Family-owned Ballard Time Shop keeps ticking

Erin Johnson Ballard

Ask Brian Boyett what his favorite clock is out of the hundreds in the Ballard Time Shop, the store he co-owns with his wife, and he’ll tell you a No. 2 Seth Thomas, of which he has two.

“Runs well and doesn’t chime,” said Boyett, after nodding toward the identical wall-hanging clocks. Though he has a favorite, he doesn’t dismiss the other grandfathers, cuckoos and electric clocks lining the small shop off Market Street.

“We do anything that ticks,” said Boyett. And with the number of watch repairmen on the decline, Boyett said he has seen an increase in traffic to his shop.

Brian Boyett and wife Donna take a look at an antique mantle clock a customer has brought in to get fixed.

His grandfather first opened the Ballard Time Shop in 1924, and after a stint in the Coast Guard Boyett returned home and took over the business. A true Ballard shop, the store has only moved three times in its 86-year history, all within a block from its current location at 5405 20th Ave. Northwest.
“It’s always been in Ballard,” said Boyett.

Increasingly expensive rent prompted the latest move from across the street, but the Boyetts said it was for the better. The new store is smaller, but they said they like how it makes for more personal interactions with customers. And they had quite a few come through the shop, even at 1 p.m. on a Wednesday.

Over the span of half an hour the couple helped Ken, who jokingly identified himself as “an old codger,” replace two watch batteries, and attended to a couple who brought in a broken mantle clock to be diagnosed, all while fielding a half dozen calls.

Bryan Boyett shows off one of his most recent projects — A clock from 1875 that he is fixing up for a customer.

While they have a few returning customers, the Boyetts said that most of their business is one-time repair visits. Customers come in for small repairs, like Ken, who got new batteries, advice and a chance to admire the clocks, or as he called them, “beautiful machines.”

Every Monday Boyett makes his house calls, where he repairs larger clocks that can’t make it to the shop. He’s gone as far as Montana to fix clocks, because, Donna Boyett explained, there are just so few people who specialize in antique clock repair.

While Brian Boyett is the repairman, his wife, daughter and even granddaughter help run the shop.
“We have three generations working here,” Donna Boyett said — along with many cats who have lived in the shop throughout the years. Their current cat, a grey tabby, does more lounging than watch repair, and the cats are well known by customers.

Though business is good, Boyett said he still feels fewer people value antique clocks. “These days things are changed and there’s not as much love for mechanical things.”

Boyett has this love, and shares it with many of his customers. He points out a 19th century wall clock resting against his workbench. “This clock – there’s someone who still loves it.”

Visit the Ballard Time Shop Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or give them a call at (206) 784-6520.

(Contributor Erin Johnson is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.)

21 thoughts to “Family-owned Ballard Time Shop keeps ticking”

  4. We used Ballard Time Shop to repair a very old grandfather clock we have. They did an amazing job and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again. Glad to hear their business is still going strong.

  6. Great article it would be great to feature family owned businesses throughout Ballard. These places need our support and are a part of a healthy community. Thank you for featuring this and for giving this budding journalist a terrific opportunity!

  8. I had an ironically bad experience there involving time itself. I rushed down there after work to get a battery for a watch I inherited and arrived about 4:45 or 4:50pm. (They close at 5pm) I walked inside and all the lights were off. After a moment, a lady I assume to be the wife walks into the front room to say “we’re closed”. I ask “when do you close?’ and she looks at a clock on the wall to say “now.” The clock obviously was not showing 5pm yet. Needless to say I still need a battery several years later.

  9. I’ve taken a clock here but never had it serviced. They said it would be $300 just to look at it since it was such a rare clock. The clock mechanics weren’t even so rare, it was the face of the clock that they were worried about. I appreciate their cautiousness, but isn’t that what insurance is for? $500+ for a clock that just got over wound isn’t worth it to me (unless I was trying to sell it and it would add more than that to its value), I’m OK with just having it as a focal piece even if it doesn’t work.

  10. We used to get our watch batteries replaced there, because it was convenient. But I always felt like I was bothering him with our mass-produced, inexpensive watches. I just got the feeling that replacing my batteries was beneath him. So now, I go to Alex at Fred Meyer Jeweler, who seems more than happy to have my business.

    But I’m glad the Time Shop still has a kitty. The kitties probably had as much to do with my returning as did the convenient location.

  11. Brian was just at our house yesterday fixing the grandfather clock my Dad built. He’d warned me that the clock might need a new, very expensive movement, but it turned out all it needed was to be oiled. He’s repaired other clocks for me and replaced watch batteries. Though I know of others who haven’t been happy with the shop, I’ve always been very pleased and recommend them.

  14. If you are allergic to cats don’t step foot in this place. I needed my watch battery replaced, popped in and had an allergy attack for hours. The place reeked of litter boxes and cat. I had to step out on the sidewalk in the pouring rain to get away from it while the battery was replaced. I’m sure they’re nice people and can fix clocks, but the state of that shop will keep me far away from now on.

  17. This business is really unreliable. We have a beautiful clock we entrusted to their care. He removed the works and held on to it for months. After close to a couple thousand dollars and many months of our worrying and checking in, he finally returned it. It never worked the same way again and has now quit. We will need to find another clock repair to fix it but will certainly never call on him again. What a very unfortunate experience. Wonderful pictures of a disreputable operation.

Leave a Reply