Jun 28, 2009

Warner’s Card and Gift Shop to celebrate silver anniversaryBy Toby HatchettSeacoastOnline.com

Portsmouth, NH — Happy birthday to you! Warner’s Card and Gift Shop turns 25 years old July 15 and this venerable downtown store just keeps on going.

“My mother bought this store when we moved here from Pennsylvania,” said owner Robert Wyrick. “She ran it until five years ago, when my wife Kathy and I bought it.”

Not to worry; mom is still there as is Linda Marshall, sales associate, who has been at Warner’s since the beginning. The continuity matters and it is one of the key factors for why people keep coming back.

Wyrick, who lives in Hampton, is what he calls “chronically optimistic.” This shows. Call him Mr. Downtown. While many locals still refer to the store as “that Hallmark store” it is not really. Wyrick and his wife own the store independently. While they sell Hallmark cards and Hallmark wrapping paper, the store is not a traditional Hallmark store.

“I wanted to make our store all about downtown Portsmouth and the Seacoast,” Wyrick said. “My wife and I have both worked in retail and we wanted to utilize our experience to make this store a unique Portsmouth store, which is what Portsmouth is all about.”

Wyrick and his wife like to buy locally and offer local products. They are not a cookie-cutter store and patrons appreciate this.

“After working in corporate retail and moving away a couple of times,” Wyrick said, “we came back and here we will stay. I love the people contact and our regular customers and the tourists.”

Since Wyrick and his wife bought the business from his mother, he is happy to think they have brought a more eclectic mix of products and personal mix of product.

“People who come to Portsmouth are expecting to find things they can’t find elsewhere,” Wyrick said.

With this goal, the store sells locally made jams and pottery from Ebbeson Pottery in Hampton and carries locally made jewelry and many souvenirs.

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