we ’ ve sold to and dealt with ,” he said . One of those stars was the famous comedian Henny Youngman , who introduced Allen to a lot of other celebrities .
“ When there ’ s no virus , I ’ m around the world at magic conventions every three to four weeks ,” Allen said . “ We also put on a big magic convention every year when there ’ s no pandemic and people come from around the world to attend our convention .”
But lately , as the world endures the Covid-19 pandemic , that
Harry Allen
“ As a kid you don ’ t want to hang out in a furniture store , you hang out in this neat store ,” he said . “ That ’ s how I grew into the magic business .”
But the road to owning a magic shop wasn ’ t a straight line for Allen .
“ I got a real estate license and everything like that , but I figured if you have to work for the rest of your life , why not do something you like , otherwise it ’ s like you ’ re in prison ,” he said .
Over the next half-century , Allen ’ s decision to devote his life to magic has taken him around the world to magic conventions and to perform , meeting famous magicians and celebrities along the way .
“ I ’ ve performed around the world and met some big stars that part of the business has been on hold .
While many businesses were forced to close their doors or come up with new ways to operate , Daytona Magic nimbly shifted its focus to online sales , something the shop had already been heavily involved with .
Allen said for years Daytona Magic produced a thick catalog of products that he would bring to conventions and with the advent of the Internet , the mail-order side of the business was able to expand .
“ We always had a strong mail-order presence over the years , but customers switched to more online because they couldn ’ t leave their homes ,” he said . “ We were really geared up before the pandemic came , it was not something we had to do all of a sudden .”
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