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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Everything Old New Again at Remodeled Store

After spending $50,000 to remodel her eight-year-old shop, Katie Echeverry felt like celebrating. The owner of Unique Vintage in Burbank invited several dozen guests to a “Re” Grand Opening party last month to see the store’s new upscale look. The 4,600-square-foot space originally featured dark wood fixtures and pink and white striped walls, resembling a kiddie costume shop. Now, after the renovation that Echeverry and her employees completed without the help of a construction company, the shop has been completely gutted and replaced with new dĂ©cor. The white walls and new white fixtures combine with floor-to-ceiling windows to flood the space with light. “The aesthetic didn’t match (our product),” she said. “It was really dark and very outdated, so we really wanted to elevate the brand so that people felt comfortable coming in here.” Echeverry also moved the dressing rooms from the front of the shop to the back, and placed a love seat, chair and coffee table nearby to create a living-room effect. The shop closed for nearly three weeks while renovations were underway. Unique Vintage sells vintage-inspired apparel and accessories as far back as the 1920s, when the flapper look was popular. The shop carries a range of selections from prom dresses and hand-beaded flapper-inspired gowns and tops to casual day dresses and high-wasted swimwear. Prices range from $50 for a simple wiggle dress from the 1960s to $400 for a hand-beaded dress. The shop receives a lot of foot traffic around Halloween and new year’s – as well as good business from the film industry year round. Just last year, the shop supplied clothes for some of the cast members in “Bessie,” an HBO TV movie starring Queen Latifah as legendary blues singer Bessie Smith. Echeverry’s store is one of a handful in the Valley catering to the retro crowd. Other vintage shops include Iguana Vintage Clothing in Sherman Oaks and Playclothes in Burbank. Unique Vintage got its start in 2001, when Echeverry successfully turned her hobby into a business. She took a risk and left her stable job as a pharmaceutical rep to start selling vintage apparel online at UniqueVintage.com. By 2007, Echeverry said that business had grown and she was handling close to 20 orders a week while bringing in roughly $5,000 monthly. It was then that she decided to open a brick-and-mortar location in Burbank. The shop moved around a bit before settling in at 2013 W. Magnolia Blvd. Unique Vintage now has revenue in the millions and 35 employees. Eckeverry said e-commerce still drives her business and she has no plans to open additional retail locations because online sales bring people to her Burbank store. “It’s been a fun ride,” she said. Bye-Bye Bakery Bay Bread, a manufacturing plant in San Fernando, will close its doors this month, laying off 50 workers. The commercial bakery is owned by Starbucks Coffee Co. and is one of two manufacturing facilities that supply Bay Bread products to La Boulange cafĂ©s. Starbucks announced in June that it would close its 23 La Boulange cafĂ©s, the majority of which are in San Francisco, and its two manufacturing plants by the end of this month. “Based on our ongoing evaluations, Starbucks has determined that La Boulange stores are not sustainable for the company’s long-term growth,” it said in the closure announcement. Starbucks acquired Bay Bread in June 2012 for $100 million in cash with hopes of building the brand to a national presence. Unfortunately, the coffee giant bit off more than it could chew and its attempts to scale up the Northern California chain fell short. Employees being laid off at the 13850 Del Sur St. plant include administration and production staff, packers, and sanitation and maintenance workers. Jewelry, Please Charming Charlie, a growing women’s jewelry retailer, opened a store at Simi Valley Town Center in August. The Houston retailer specializes in contemporary jewelry and accessories including handbags, scarves and leather goods. Prices range from $5 to $150 for select limited-edition items. The retailer has 350 locations in the U.S., Canada and Middle East – having introduced two stores in Dubai this July. The 5,700-square-foot store at 1555 Simi Valley Town Center Way is one of five locations in the Valley region, including stores in Northridge, Palmdale, Thousand Oaks and Valencia. Staff Reporter Champaign Williams can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].

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