A Main Street Place to Find “Anything & Everything”

Outside of the store Anything & Everything are boxes of trinkets on tables with a grill and golf clubs sitting to the side. The collection looks more like a yard sale setup than a store display.

Upon entering the store, customers stop as they take in the view. The inside of the store looks like a cross between a carnival display and your grandfather’s attic.

Brian Larrabee opened his store, Anything & Everything, in March and sells a variety of items that are unique, antique or just perplexing. The store sits across the street from the Second Act thrift store and is located at 55 North Main St.

Although Larrabee just opened Anything & Everything, he said he has been buying and selling things for most of his life. Before opening his shop, Larrabee said he sold things on Craigslist, at auctions, through word of mouth and any other way he could think of.

Larrambe said his business grew from his love of old stuff which he got from going to garage sales with his grandmother as a kid. As he got older, he started going to auctions and storage auctions as well. As his collection of items grew bigger, he needed more space to collect items and sell them.

“I’ve just always been interested in old stuff, and I’ve always collected stuff over the years,” Larrabee said. “I was finally to a spot where I had to start getting rid of stuff and the shop came available and I jumped on it.”

Larrabee collects inventory for his store from a variety of places. He said he goes to yard sales, flea markets, auctions, storage auctions, Goodwill or he buys items from people.

“I don’t have problems finding stuff,” Larrabee said. “It’s either neat stuff that I enjoy for my personal collection that I look for, or certain items I know I can sell in the shop.”

Larrabee enjoys interacting with his customers and wants his inventory to appeal to his customers on a personal level. He said he wants his customers to see one-of-a-kind items that pique their interest or take them back to their childhood. He said he is a big history buff and likes explaining the history of the items to his customers when they ask questions.

“If something comes across [and] I have no idea what it is and no one else knows what it is, a lot of times I’ll buy it just so I can go home and figure out what it was, because I enjoy the history behind the items and seeing unique and different items that a lot of people haven’t seen before,” Larrabee said.

His interest in a wide array of items is what prompted him to name his store Anything & Everything. Larrabee said he is always bringing new items into the store and he doesn’t focus on just one type of item because he feels like that would be boring and would not entice people to come back.

“I like to have an assortment of new and old, vintage [items]. It’s well rounded,” Larrabee said. “I don’t have a niche where it’s one particular type of stuff.”

Larrabee’s customers seem to agree. Judy Edinger, a regular customer at Anything & Everything said she comes to the store every couple of weeks to see the eclectic selection of items. Edinger enjoys seeing how the displays and items have changed between visits.

“It’s the different stuff; you never know what you’re going to see,” Edinger said. “It’s so full, I don’t know how you can rearrange it, but he does.”

Cathy Helmick, another regular customer at the shop, said she likes how unique the store is and her favorite thing about Anything & Everything is Larrabee himself.

“I like Brian,” Helmick said. “He’s really helpful.”

Larrabee will often track down items for his customers if he does not have something in his inventory.

The biggest challenge Larrabee said he had getting started was spreading the word about his shop. He said he has had a lot of success by advertising on social media, but it is challenging because the part of town his shop is does not have much traffic.

“Trying to get people down to this side of town I guess you’d say would be the only problem,” Larrabee said.
He said his business has been increasing since the college students returned, though.

Overall, Larrabee said he enjoys running his new business. He likes being his own boss and setting his own hours.
“I do enjoy being in downtown Cedarville because it fills in and empty spot in the shop,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like it’s in a ghost town.”

Larrabee said he hopes he is able to continue to grow.
“I don’t expect to make a killing, just enough to pay the bills,” Larrabee said. “It’s something I enjoy doing, so if I can pay the bills and enjoy doing it …”

His customers also appreciate his role in the community.

“I hope he can make a go of it,” Helmick said. “We need him here.”

Edinger also said she hopes Larrabee is successful.

“I hope he stays with it,” Edinger said. “I hope he’s patient enough to allow himself to make it.”

Helmick said she would tell her friends that they need to go to Anything & Everything to check it out.

“They need to go and look at it, just see for themselves what’s in here because they are going to find something they want or need,” Helmick said. “It’s unique.”

Keegan D’Alfonso is a sophomore journalism major and the Off-Campus News editor for Cedars. He was a sergeant in the Marines and enjoys learning about and experiencing other cultures.