‘Bittersweet:’ Longtime Toy Store in Downtown Ellicott City is Closing

an Ellicott City Main Street toy store for more than two decades, is closing its doors.

Co-owners Ed Williams, 66, and Frank DiPietro, 52, announced the closing on Facebook on Wednesday, saying that after 21 years at 8133 Main St., Ellicott City, they will be moving to Florida.

In an interview, Williams said they will be going into “semi-retirement” upon the store’s closing.

The store’s last day is June 1.

“Twenty-one years is enough,” Williams said. “It’s a hard business. … September, we start working right after Labor Day and work seven days a week until Christmas. The only day we get off is Thanksgiving. The risk you take is phenomenal.”

He also said online competition, which doesn’t have to charge sales tax, has been tough.

“That really creates for an unlevel playing field,” he said.

Williams said the 12,000 square foot store space, which he and DiPietro owned, has been sold, but due to a confidentiality agreement, he can’t yet say who the new owners will be. 

But he’ll say this much: “I think it’s going to be a great business that will come in.”

Williams said he and DiPietro hope to keep the toy business going – but on a smaller scale – upon their relocation.

They will live near the beach near Melbourne, FL in a home they purchased about five years ago, he said.

Until closing, the owners said they are offering 30 percent off all store merchandise.

“Please come to Mumbles and Squeaks to share a story, a hug, a tear,” wrote the owners on Facebook. “As we said, this is bittersweet. We won't say, "Goodbye." We would rather say, 'We will save you a seat on the beach!'"

Williams said his best memories were with the families who shared their personal stories and lives with him and DiPietro over the years.

“We have people coming with their kids now who were kids when we first opened,”  he said. “We get invited to graduations and weddings and Naval Academy graduations. We’ve been through a lot of successes and a lot of tragedies with families.

"Kids lives were saved because of a dragon.”

What are your best memories from Mumbles and Squeaks? Tell us in story comments.

See related links:

It’s a Toyland After All: Behind the Counter at Mumbles And Squeaks

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