Press Release

ST. LOUIS, MO (August 2005) — Build-A-Bear Workshop® (NYSE: BBW), Where Best Friends Are Made® is opening a store at Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday, September 15. Northlake Mall will offer Guests a wide variety of retail stores to choose from and Build-A-Bear Workshop is thrilled to be able to offer Guests in Charlotte a unique and exciting retail experience during their visits to the new mall.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is based on the premise that nearly everyone, regardless of age, has a special fondness for stuffed animals. When Guests visit a Build-A-Bear Workshop store, they enter a lighthearted teddy-bear-themed environment consisting of fun bear-making stations. Guests choose their furry friend to make, stuff it just right, and add personality with hundreds of outfits and accessories. The company is also known for the memorable heart ceremony that takes place during the bear-making process. This station allows Guests to choose a red satin heart, make a special wish and place it safely inside their stuffed animal.

As Guests enter a Build-A-Bear Workshop store they are introduced to a variety of stuffed animals including bears, dogs, cats, bunnies, monkeys and a series of Beary Limited™ edition Collectibear® animals. Build-A-Bear Workshop stuffed animals are very affordable, ranging in price from $10-$25. Hundreds of coordinating outfits and accessories are also available to further personalize new furry friends. Guests in Charlotte have the chance to show their team spirit by purchasing special bear-sized officially licensed Carolina Panthers uniforms and sweatshirts. In addition, Charlotte Bobcats jerseys are available for all basketball fans!

As part of the grand opening, on Saturday, September 17, Build-A-Bear Workshop® invites Guests to participate in Stuffed with Hugs Project Bearlift and make a bear for free to be donated. Two hundred bears will be donated to UNICEF for distribution to children affected by the Tsunami. Stuffed with Hugs™ began in 2001 and since then Build-A-Bear Workshop has donated over 125,000 bears to worthy causes. The purpose of Stuffed with Hugs is to give children a chance to help others.

With existing store locations at Carolina Place Mall and Concord Mills, Maxine Clark, Founder and Chief Executive Bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop, is looking forward to opening the third store in the area. She notes, “Our plan is always to open in premier malls across the country, and we will continue this approach as we open at Northlake Mall. We are very excited to be a part of this new mall and have the opportunity to reach out to even more of our friends in Charlotte.”

Build-A-Bear Workshop continues its aggressive expansion plan nationally by opening in new markets this year, including Mobile, AL; Jackson, MS; Toledo, OH; Hamilton, Ontario; Charleston, WV; Tucson, AZ; Bakersfield, CA - as well as opening franchise stores internationally. The company has been developing its global strategy for the past several years, and has opened stores in United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Australia, South Korea and France.

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW), with fiscal 2004 total revenue of $302 million, is the only national company that offers Guests an interactive make-your-own-stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. The first store opened in St. Louis in 1997; the company currently operates over 190 stores in the United States and Canada. With the opening of its store in Sheffield, England, in the fall of 2003 and the addition of international stores in Japan, Denmark, Australia, South Korea and France, Build-A-Bear Workshop has become the global leader in the teddy bear business. In November 2004, the company opened two friends 2B made® stores, the newest concept based on the doll-making experience. For more information about the company and its products, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning web site at www.buildabear.com.

TRADEMARKS
We would like to thank you for your interest in covering our business. As you write your story we would like to ask that you use our full Name: Build-A-Bear Workshop® and that when referencing the process of making stuffed animals you use the word “make” not “build”.

Build-A-Bear Workshop® is our well-known trade name and our registered trademark of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. Build-A-Bear Workshop® should only be used in capital letters to refer to our products and services and should not be used as a verb.

Contact: Jennifer Mansell
314.423.8000 Ext. 5402
414.801.1146 cell
jenniferm@buildabear.com

Shawn Bertani
314.423.8000 Ext. 5366
314.452.6391 cell
shawnb@buildabear.com