Souvenir shop opens downtown

by Jazz Clark

Souvenirs and more can be found at Berkeley Springs Memories, a new shop at 19 North Washington Street in Berkeley Springs.

Nestled between Berkeley Springs Books and the Stop & Shop, Barb Wolfe sells everything from t-shirts to leather handbags to George Washington ornaments.

Wolfe’s inspiration for a store of Berkeley Springs items came when her friends wanted to go into town and buy souvenirs, and there was no such place.

“When you have a tourist town, where probably 80% of its income comes from tourism, you need a one stop shop, ” Wolfe said.

Next she asked friends to decide on a logo.

“We asked everybody what Berkeley Springs made them think of, and across the board it was the park and the gazebo,” said Wolfe.

Now they sell the custom gazebo logo on hats, shirts, magnets and other items.
The original seal of the town was used as well, the 1776 Trustee of Bath (otherwise known as the Naked Lady).

“People will come to this town and walk around, and want to get some spring water. It’s what we’re here for,” Wolfe said. “There’s nothing to put the water in.”

The trustee seal adorns water bottles and magnets for now, with shirts and hats coming in the future.

Since opening on April 26, customers have mostly been local folks curious about the shop, but Wolfe expects the tourist trade to pick up in the next few weekends.
Wolfe has been coming to Berkeley Springs since the 1970s. She lived in town for four years in the 1980s and came back in October 2010 after working as a real estate agent in Florida for 15 years.

Though she never did retail, she decided that if she could sell a house for a million dollars, she could sell a t-shirt.

The shop will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., May through December and plans Thursday to Monday hours, January through April.

Berkeley Springs Memories can be contacted by calling 304-258-2000.