Megalodon, woolly mammoth teeth among $20k worth of items stolen from Ballard oddities shop
Aug 15, 2025, 5:26 AM | Updated: 7:51 am
Ryan Robbins, owner of Ballyhoo Curiosity Shop in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, shows an empty display case after thieves broke in. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Inside Ballyhoo Curiosity Shop in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, people can find some interesting things for sale.
“A museum where you can buy the exhibits,” owner Ryan Robbins said.
He said the unusual and interesting items they have on display are really what have kept people coming back for the 10 years they’ve been in business.
“I want people to grow up remembering like I grew up going to places and thinking, ‘God, this is a magical place,'” Robbins said.
Sadly, his store was broken into late Saturday night into early Sunday morning. Seattle Police said two people broke in, smashed several cases, and stole up to $20,000 in merchandise while causing thousands in damage.
Some of the items stolen were jewelry and fossils, like a woolly mammoth tooth and megalodon shark teeth.
“The most valuable thing was like a $1,500 woolly mammoth tooth,” Robbins said.
He said the timing was pretty bad, too. The store planned to move down the street to a new location within the next few weeks.
“It’s never happened to us before, and we are right in the middle of probably the biggest thing we have gone through in business in 10 years, which is moving,” Robbins said.
Robbins said it’s been a tough week for some Ballard businesses, including the ones impacted by the dumpster fire last week that did thousands in damage and destroyed a bunch of art by local artists. Robbins said he has beefed up security for the time being, but he said the support from the community has helped them keep going.
“I mean, you got to keep going like we got to keep the revenue stream going,” Robbins said. “You got to keep working.”
Seattle Police are still looking for the suspects. Anyone with any information is urged to reach out immediately. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the store.
