Eddie's Trick Shop announced this week they are closing after nearly 50 years in business. The shop, currently located on the Marietta Square, sells costumes, novelties, clown, and magic merchandise, and is currently offering nearly all merchandise at 60 percent off. The store's "closing sale" is expected to run for the next two weeks, but the store could close sooner depending on sales velocity.
Frank McKinnon co-owns Eddie's with his sister and brother-in-law, Kathy and Keith Beavers.
Over the years, the store has moved around the Square before settling at 70 S Park Square NE. In total, the store has had four different locations on South Park Square and North Park Square.
Having grown up in Atlanta, we at ToNeTo Atlanta have memories of the Marietta shop but also others in Duluth, Stone Mountain, and Decatur. A search of the Georgia Secretary of State's website indicates there was also once - between 1987 and 2001 - another location in Buckhead at the corner of Piedmont and Roswell Roads in Tuxedo Festival.
The Decatur location at 262 Rio Circle near Your DeKalb Farmers Market and the Duluth outpost at 3675 Satellite Boulevard in Duluth near Gwinnett Place Mall closed years ago. The Stone Mountain store and warehouse located at 2075 West Park Place Boulevard Suite A across from Netherworld Haunted House closed this past August, according to the Eddie's Facebook page.
In their Facebook post confirming the closure, the company said in part "It's with a heavy heart we can confirm the rumors are true, after 46 years we are closing our doors." The company did not reveal a reason for the closure but like so many small businesses, they have undoubtedly been negatively impacted by the rise in e-commerce shopping, more specifically by Amazon, the online behemoth that has wreaked havoc on nearly every category from books to medicine.
Earlier this month Amazon released their year-end results for 2023 where they saw their sales increase 12% to $574.8 billion. North America segment sales increased 12% year-over-year to $352.8 billion. The company also has more than 200 million Prime members. Despite how awful Amazon may be for small businesses, they do a terrific job of keeping people in their ecosystem.
It's incredibly difficult for the little guy to survive, let alone thrive.
Eddie’s Trick Shop is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
What is your fondest memory of Eddie's Trick Shop? What is your favorite shop on the Marietta Square? Are you team #AbandonAmazon?
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