Paris fireworks shop opens with a bang

Photo: Peter L. McGuire

HAVOC — Catherine Richards, right, helps customers during the grand opening of Havoc Fireworks in South Paris. The store opened on May 25, and Richards says that people were streaming in to buy fireworks all weekend long.

PARIS — Havoc Fireworks opened its doors on May 25 and excited customers pounced on the chance to stock up for the Memorial Day weekend, buying the store out of some of its stock and breaking the expectation of its owner, Catherine Richards.

Richards says that for days before the store opened, people were calling and coming in looking to buy fireworks.

"It's funny, I haven't really done any advertising at all, it's all been word of mouth," Richards told one customer.

She thinks that Havoc's prominent sign on Route 26 might have something to do with the popularity of the shop.

"Ever since that sign went up people have been calling here like crazy," she said.

On the day the store opened, Richards was surprised at the number of people coming in.

"I knew [the opening] was going to go good, but it's been off the chain today," Richards said on Friday. 

Over the long weekend, people continued to pour into Havoc, said Richards.

By Tuesday morning, Richards sold out of the most popular items – M-60s, nearly all of the 10 cases of Roman candles and almost all of the bricks of firecrackers she had ordered.

She's not even sure that Memorial Day had anything to do with the amount of traffic the store received. She guesses that most people just generally want to set off some fireworks.

"From what I get, everyone's just going to go home tonight or tomorrow and light them off and come back later for some more," she said.