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Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette Logo Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette

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Toy Town ribbon cutting planned next week

(April 27, 2017) Toy Town, one of Snow Hill’s newest and largest businesses, will hold a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at 5 p.m. during next week’s Arts on the River First Friday.
Since opening earlier this month, Debbie Seaton, who operates the shop with her husband Richard, said scores of familiar faces have materialized.
“It’s not just local people,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of our regular customers from all over.”
As a result of operating a store in Berlin for numerous years prior to the recent relocation to Snow Hill, Seaton said Toy Town has attracted a slew of returning clients from a number of neighboring states.
Seaton has also been impressed by the warm welcome from area merchants and residents.
“All of the businesses in town sent me flowers and stuff,” she said. “They’re fantastic and they’ve been very supportive.”
Seaton had been quick to embrace the spirit of cross promotion practiced by numerous Snow Hill businesses.
“I keep their business cards up here and I’m giving their business card out instead of just ours,” she said. “You have to try and help each other out.”
Despite the new digs providing Toy Town nearly double the showroom space of its previous location, Seaton said the business would continue obtaining unique antiques and collectables in the same manner.
“Everything comes from somebody’s private collection,” she said. “We never do auctions and we never do online.”
Typically, clients contact Toy Town directly with items they want to sell, but sometimes items are brought in unexpectedly, Seaton said.
“I had three of four people stop in yesterday just selling stuff,” she said. “I never know what it’s going to be.”
Seaton said her husband often makes house calls to hunt down antiques, which sometimes yields unanticipated treasures, like the 2 cylinder biplane currently suspended from the showroom ceiling.
“He went to go look at a pinball machine and there was an airplane,” she said. “He was like, ‘hey is it for sale,’ and the guy was like, ‘yeah it happens to be for sale.’ So you never know, he’ll go for one thing and then he’ll end up buying something else.”
Although Toy Town is already up and running at the corner of Market and Washington streets, Seaton said some of the finishing touches, such as signage, are still being completed.
“I have to put one on the other side of the building that faces the courthouse because a lot of people don’t know to come this way and turn left at the light,” she said.
Toy Town is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
While some have been surprised the business is operating on Sunday, Seaton said that is typically a prime day for antique merchants.
“People like to drive on Sundays and go somewhere after church,” she said. “A couple of these stores had already been open on Sunday and they weren’t bringing in as much as they should so they decided to close. Now that we’re open I’ve actually heard a couple of them say, ‘hey we might consider being open on Sundays too.’”