WESTERLY – If you want to have fun while shopping, this should be the right place to go – it’s even got fun in the name.
Trying to sum up The Fun Company in a handful of words doesn’t do it justice. It’s a gift shop and a coffee shop, with a wide variety of offerings from stationary to furniture, coffee to clocks, toys to glassware.
“We have home furnishings, décor for the house, a children’s section, themes for the holidays, a wedding table … we have a little bit of everything,” said Stacy Stahl, buyer for The Fun Company.
In fact, it has even more than it had before. Owner Frank Algiere Jr. purchased the company, then located in Mystic, in January. It opened at 33 Railroad Avenue for Memorial Day weekend.
“I could have stayed right there,” Algiere said, but he felt the opportunity in Westerly was too good to pass up. The extra space and the location, an up-and-coming part of downtown, are a natural fit for what he has in mind.
In addition to offering the kinds of items that have been Fun Company staples for the past decade, Algiere took the front 1,500 square feet of the store and turned it into a coffee shop, complete with free wireless Internet access, magazines for reading, and comfortable music.
“The coffee shop was the real brainstorm,” he said. “The Fun Company was a fun place, but didn’t have any place to eat or drink. You can shop around a little bit, and have a cup of coffee.”
Algiere and Stahl worked together for 20 years in the food industry, and Algiere’s family is well-known in Westerly for food, including a shop his father ran, Fra’s, and one that his sister now owns in Millpond Plaza, Joyce’s Everyday Gourmet.
The shop features imported Italian espresso beans, chai, tea and premium coffee – “the real stuff, we’re both big coffee fans,” Algiere said – and will soon add items made by the family.
“I’ll have snacks provided by Joyce, along with soups, cookies and pastries,” Algiere said.
With the railroad station across the street and other downtown shopping and dining within easy walking distance, the concept is to attract not only shoppers, but those waiting for the train or wishing to sit down and relax after spending time downtown.
“Bring your own laptop, read a magazine, have a cappuccino,” suggested Stahl.
Of course, the gifts, children’s games, cosmetics, decorations and more are still a major part of what defines the Fun Company experience.
“There are certain things typical Fun customers have shopped for,” said Stahl, herself a former customer. “We want to retain the customer base Fun has always had.”
One example is the children’s section, which includes games, toys, books, stuffed animals, and clothes. Algiere said the types of toys, including wooden railroads and dollhouses, stay in the pattern of what customers have been looking for at The Fun Company. The number of toys is expected to increase significantly in the near future.
“There’s going to be quite a selection,” Stahl said.
There’s also colorful displays that rotate seasonally, such as a July 4 display featuring all things red, white and blue.
Stahl keeps busy going to distributors in New York, Boston and in between seeking out fresh items. The goal is to purchase quality items that are unique and affordable.
“Every time you want, you could find something different. You might not see this product ever again,” Algiere said.
“It’s a fun shopping experience. You’re not going there to buy a candle – you don’t know what you’ll find that day.”
Algiere stressed that the store is intended to be affordable, offering all stationary and books at half off the listed prices.
“We’re not a high-end gift store, but we’re selling good brands,” he said. “It’s fun, it’s unusual, it’s accessible. We have wind chimes for $5 to chandeliers for $500.”
Another thing The Fun Company is not, he said, is a specialty store, calling it the polar opposite.
“We specialize in hundreds of things,” Algiere said, “for men, women and kids.”
The Fun Company is open six days each week, and closed on Mondays. It opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; at 8 p.m. on Friday; and at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Those hours could change, depending on what customers are looking for.
“It’s really our coffee shop that will dictate it,” Algiere said.
agreenberg@thewesterlysun.com
