West Village Store Gets Big Business From Royal Wedding
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- On both sides of the pond, From Westminster to the West Village, the royal wedding is drumming up sales, Dave Carlin reports.
Mugs, plates, dish towels, bags, cushions, stamps, pillows, playing cards and champagne glasses, buying Will and Kate merchandise at Tea and Sympathy on Greenwich Avenue were John and Bari Branson.
They're here from Dallas, Texas and looking forward to watching the wedding on TV in New York.
"We didn't get an invite so it's very strange," said Bari Branson. "Lost in the mail. That's what I figured."
Excitement over the big day led to big business at the shop. Owner Sean Cavanagh-Dowsett told Carlin that no sooner does the merchandise come in, they're gone.
"We had the mugs, they sold out today," he said. "The plates, the teapots, they're flying out, I'm really amazed by what a fantastic reception it's had."
Richard Bennett and Diane Fullwiler of Ohio were next door to the store, having tea and planning their wedding.
"We just got engaged," Fullwiler said.
Who knows? Maybe they'll pick up an idea or two from the lavish royal ceremony.
"It's something good, positive, optimistic, hopeful," Fullwiler said.
"I think it is the whole fantasy, prince and princess. Every girl wants to be a princess," said Eimear Varian-Barry of the Tea and Sympathy shop.
That is a sentiment many are finding you can take to the bank.
A CBSNews-New York Times poll found 28 percent, that's three in 10 Americans, say they're interested in all the pre-wedding affairs.
