This is one of those things we wish really WAS just a rumor.

If you haven't heard yet, Buffalo Gal Vintage, one of St. Petersburg's reliable vintage shops, is closing later this month.

Longtime owner Desiree Sheridan said she'll will close March 24, a day after the "Junker's Ball," presented by the neighboring Paper Street Market vintage furniture and housewares store.

Sheridan said she decided two weeks ago to close her downtown storefront on Central Avenue (she was located on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street N before that).

It wasn't an easy choice for Sheridan, who still plans to sell her large collection of vintage items and clothing online. Sheridan said she won't miss the stress and overhead that comes with a brick-and-mortar shop, but she will miss the faces.

"I love my community," she told us said this past weekend. "The biggest thing is knowing that I served a need. I've never been able to do the balance of retail and online. Online I get a bigger audience. I'm still buying and collecting."

In the meantime, however, Sheridan needs to clear out the stuff she has now. And she wants your help!

Practically the whole store is 50 percent off, unless it has a "dot" on the tag, which means it's 25 percent off. The store hours are 11-6 Wednesday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Hurry up. I was in there Saturday and the store was packed with people, like St. Petersburg resident Tanya Coovadia.

"What? It's closing?" Coovadia moaned after reading a sign out front. Coovadia was showing the store off to her friend, who was visiting from Toronto. "It's a shame. She's a connoisseur of the funky."

Sheridan said she'll not only be selling the clothes, but the fixtures in the store as well. That means the infamous 50s aqua refrigerator is now on the market. (Sheridan says the asking price starts at $600)

-Deal Diva Kameel