Sep 26, 2007

Teddy Bear Depot offers mix of goodsBy Chris HamelMassLive.com

Ware – The Teddy Bear Depot and Coffee Bar on Main Street is a new business that is almost too good to be true.

Conceived by Dale E. Ramsey, the large, pristine store at 47 Main St. offers baked goods and non-alcoholic beverages, indoor and outdoor seating, antiques, collectibles, gifts and, of course, a large population of teddy bears.

Ramsey, 55, a Stafford Springs, Conn., native who lives in Monson, opened the store in May. But the idea spent a long time percolating.

“I’ve always had an interest in having a gift shop,” he said. “The whole theory of this store was to rent out these (display) cases. The majority of stuff here now is new and used gifts. The teddy bears are running a close second.”

The large display cases, which dominate the wall space, are available to any vendors, who wish to sell antiques, collectibles or other items. There is no commission charge for sales, and the cases, which vary in size, range in rent from $35 a month to $50 a month.

Ramsey, who is retired from the U.S. Postal Service, also accepts works for display outside the cases. For the sale of those items, he charges a 25 percent commission.

Much of the stock, which is protected by surveillance and security systems, belongs to Ramsey, who since childhood has collected teddy bears and antiques, the latter being a passion that started with his digging up old bottles.

But he has a display section stocked by the Manor Hall Soap Co., a Springfield-based cottage industry that placed its first-ever retail sales rack in the shop and participated in Ramsey’s grand opening celebration on May 17-18.

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