WELLS — A landmark antiques store that draws hordes of shoppers in search of vintage goods is scheduled to close its doors Monday after more than four decades in business.

Bo-Mar Hall Antiques & Collectibles, a sprawling 8,000-square-foot emporium at 1622 Post Road, which is also Route 1, is set to close at 4:45 p.m.

Shopping at Bo-Mar Hall was like sifting through a hoarder’s attic. Narrow aisles snake between tables brimming with old postcards, cases crammed with porcelain figurines and shelves stacked with Fiesta dinnerware.

On Sunday, the place was packed with loyal customers who came to say goodbye and shoppers looking for a deal on deeply discounted items.

Owner Robin Frost, who bought the business from founders Bob and Marlene Blair 12 years ago, said everyone, including her four employees, was feeling emotional.

“We all work together. The dealers have broken down in tears. Customers, too,” said Frost.

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Joan Moryl, of Westminster, Mass., strolls the aisles at Bo-Mar Hall. Another Bay State resident, Steve Louf, said he is upset that the store he has frequented for seven years is closing. “The people who work here are the best of the best,” he said.

Joan Moryl, of Westminster, Mass., strolls the aisles at Bo-Mar Hall. Another Bay State resident, Steve Louf, said he is upset that the store he has frequented for seven years is closing. “The people who work here are the best of the best,” he said.

Bo-Mar started out as a yard sale in 1971, when the Blairs bought the rambling Victorian house next door. Marlene Blair decided to set up a table under a big tree in the front yard, selling jewelry, clothing and other old things.

“Nothing special. I liked a lot of things,” she said.

Soon, several people asked if they could set up their own tables, and Bo-Mar Hall was born. It started out as an open-air sale and then moved into an open-sided structure, which Bob Blair gradually enclosed. Eventually it evolved into a year-round market with space for 130 dealers.

An average of 200 to 250 customers came through the door every day, said Frost, who bought the business from the Blairs after a midlife career change from the computer industry to collectibles. The Blairs continued to own the buildings. Bob Blair died in 2013 at the age of 84.

Frost said that despite the good business, she decided this fall to close Bo-Mar because she could not afford the overhead.

Blair, who lives behind the business in a home that she and her husband built 30 years ago, described the situation as a dispute over plowing services that Frost was supposed to provide. At 82, Blair said she is no longer up to the task of caring for the property.

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Neither side is happy that the longtime business is closing.

“I really feel bad,” said Blair, adding that she now just wants to sell the hall, an adjacent auction building and the Victorian house.

Marilyn Foster, of Westbrook, browses the shelves at Bo-Mar Hall. Items for sale included a box of (Doug) Flutie Flakes and a President Clinton Dancin’ Machine.

Marilyn Foster, of Westbrook, browses the shelves at Bo-Mar Hall. Items for sale included a box of (Doug) Flutie Flakes and a President Clinton Dancin’ Machine.

On Sunday, shoppers scanned the tables of goods, which included a $24 six-pack of vintage Schweppes Ginger Ale, unopened, on sale for 30 percent off. A President Bill Clinton Dancin’ Machine, priced at $20 even though the tag indicated it didn’t work, was on sale at 40 percent off. It was originally offered as a pair along with a Hillary Clinton Dancin’ Machine, which apparently had been snapped up earlier.

Shoppers sifted through other treasures: a Second Edition Collector’s Box of Flutie – as in Doug – Flakes, on sale at $3.50, a bottle of Youth-Dew perfume for $10 and a Sheaffer Cartridge Glidewriter Pen in its original package for $3.

Steve Louf of Salem, Massachusetts, said he is devastated by the closing. He said he has dropped by Bo-Mar Hall every other week for the past seven years looking for vintage toys to add to his collection.

“The people who work here are the best of the best. I would take them all home with me if I could,” Louf said.

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Wells native Andrea Bougie said she grew up shopping at Bo-Mar Hall.

“It’s a bummer. I love this place. It’s my favorite place in town,” Bougie said.

Kathy Kendrick of Franklin, New Hampshire, a regular shopper, said she was looking for items for her husband. A jelly bean dispenser, originally offered at $50, now available for $15, caught her eye.

“It’s for his man cave,” Kendrick said.

Dealers have until Dec. 10 to remove their stuff from the hall. Some had already cleared out earlier in the month, and others were in the process Sunday.

Terry Durrell of Portland was packing up boxes of the books he has sold at Bo-Mar Hall for at least a decade. Durrell, who sells his wares at a couple of other venues, said he hasn’t decided whether to look for another location.

“The sad part are the people who work here,” he said.

 

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