Trail Depot is the newest outdoor enthusiast spot in Morgan County. Alex Teixeira and Amanda-Hollins Teixeira love trails. Water trails, biking trails, hiking trails, all kinds of trails. They run Trail Depot, a place where adventurers get outfitted head-to-toe in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. No matter your experience or knowledge about the outdoors, this shop offers so much more than merchandise. Alex and Amanda saw opening this store as an opportunity to spread their love and passion for the outdoors with visitors and locals alike.
“We have the opportunity to fill this store with anything and everything we’ve ever wanted, but we never got ourselves,” said Alex Teixeira. Alex and Amanda had the idea for Trail Depot and needed assistance to make their dream a reality. They reached out to the West Virginia Small Business Development Center and have been working with two business coaches from our Eastern Panhandle office.
WV SBDC business coaches, Carol Goolsby and Michael Boyd both provided a unique perspective and expertise to help Alex and Amanda succeed. “The West Virginia Small Business Development Center has been critical in putting us in touch with people.” said Hollins-Teixeira.
“They filled a niche that wasn’t being served,” Michael Boyd, WV SBDC business coach, said. “Berkeley Springs is a mecca for weekend visitors and people who love the outdoors. This shop serves that need and elevates the whole experience in Morgan County.”
Carol Goolsby, WV SBDC business coach and professor at Shepherd University, used her unique position in education and business to connect her students to Trail Depot. Goolsby teaches a capstone course at Shepherd University where students are able to work with and help small businesses in the community. Trail Depot began working with the students and Goolsby in the Spring semester of 2022.
The students helped the shop with their inventory and merchandise, supply chain, research, marketing, and more. “It’s been a really valuable experience for Amanda and Alex as a small business starting out and a valuable experience for students as well to be able to work with a real business, helping them build and develop to the place they are today.”
“The community helped us build this,” said Hollins-Teixeira. “Trail Depot is a shop, ultimately, but for us it’s a community center. We want to bring all these people together.”
If you’re still asking yourself what’s here to do in Berkeley Springs, Alex and Amanda love that question. If you stop by their shop, they will happily tell you all of the wonderful things the area and community has to offer. Trail Deport, think outside.
WV SBDC is an accredited member of America’s SBDC, a federal partner with the SBA, and a division of the WV Department of Economic Development.
WV SBDC business coaches have professional certifications ranging from exporting, innovation, technology and economic development, to finance, management, marketing and entrepreneurship.
For information about starting a small business in WV and resources for entrepreneurs, visit wvsbdc.com.