HAYESVILLE – For its first year in business in Hayesville, Blue Bell Barn mostly flew under the radar.
Resale store owners Jim and Bonnie Bellmer joke they only spent $3 on advertising in 2018. Those few dollars went to their share of a joint advertisement for the annual Hayesville community garage sale.
So far, the Bellmers’ customers have been passersby on Ohio 60 or people who happened to hear about the store on Facebook or by word-of-mouth.
But that changes this weekend with Blue Bell Barn’s grand opening Monday, May 27.
Located at 82 S. Mechanic St., the shop sells mostly new products, often in their original packaging, from stores like Lowe’s and Sears. The Bellmers are able to buy and sell the items at a discount for various reasons. Some products were returned to the original store but are in like-new condition. Others are missing parts or have been refurbished by the Bellmers.
“It’s kind of like Hayesville’s Odd Lots,” Jim said.
Items in the store this week ranged from chain saws to light fixtures to NFL footballs and apparel. Some of their most popular products are hand tools and camping gear.
The Bellmers chose Memorial Day for their opening event in hopes of capitalizing on some foot traffic after the parade.
Hayesville’s Memorial Day parade begins at 9 a.m. at Kendig Park and passes by the store on the way to the cemetery.
Following the parade, the Bellmers will welcome guests with a visit from former wrestler James Painter, better known as “Big Jim Lancaster.”
Painter, a longtime friend of the Bellmers, will take part in the parade and then be available at the store for autographs and conversations throughout the day.
He will share stories from his wrestling days, when he wrestled against Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and Bobo Brazil.
Grand Opening visitors can also shop or just have a look around the building. Still a work-in-progress, the store is located in the former Wintersong Village, a 23-bed nursing home.
The building sat vacant for more than a decade before the Bellmers bought the place about two years ago, when they moved from the Dayton area to be closer to their grandson.
The oldest part of the building dates to the 1890s, according to the Bellmers, but the addition where the store is now located is much newer.
The Bellmers are fixing up the place one room at a time and hope to eventually refurbish the older part of the building into a family living area and a possible event space.
Jim Bellmer has been in the resale business since around 2000, when he began snatching up finds on eBay and discovered large lots of useful items from popular retail stores were selling for low prices online.
The couple tried to buy an auction business in Chillicothe as an outlet to sell products, but they ended up starting their own business in their barn near Dayton.
They named the business Blue Bell Barn after Bonnie’s maiden name, Blue, and a bell from Jim’s cousin, Emma Beecher, who Jim said is related to Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Blue Bell Barn is open 4-8 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 2-8 p.m. Sundays as well as by appointment by calling Jim at (937) 219-0820 or Bonnie at (937) 726-9620. The Bellmers often post pictures of new products on their Blue Bell Barn Store Facebook page.
