Porch and Parish The Podcast
Our mission is to make sure every Zachary resident feels heard and engaged! Host Mike Gennaro facilitates candid conversations with local leaders, influencers and innovators in Zachary, Louisiana and beyond with the help of producer Mike Holt. New episode every Monday at noon!
Porch and Parish The Podcast
Passion for Fashion and Community: The Story Behind Best and Co Boutique
What if you could combine a passion for fashion with a commitment to community? Join us on Porch Parish as we sit down with Jessica, the remarkable entrepreneur behind Zachary's upcoming Best Co Boutique. From her early days as an LSU graduate in fashion merchandising to managing a Baton Rouge boutique and dabbling in real estate in Shreveport, Jessica's journey is filled with inspiring twists and turns. Listen in as she shares her vision of creating a boutique that caters to women 35 and up, offering stylish and high-quality pieces while balancing a busy family life with her husband Dr. Best, their three children, and their dog Max.
Jessica doesn't just want to sell clothes; she aims to make a difference. We discuss her innovative idea of donating a portion of the boutique's profits each quarter to local nonprofits or charities, with customer input on choosing the causes. This episode also delves into her dedication to multi-generational shopping experiences, avoiding trendy, age-specific items, and featuring beloved brands like Intro, Fate, TCEC, THML, Skyser Blue, and Cut from the Cloth. Jessica’s commitment to her community shines through, making her boutique a shopping destination with a purpose.
Navigating the wholesale market is no small feat, and Jessica offers a masterclass on how it's done. Drawing from her extensive retail experience, she shares strategies for managing market trips, from budgeting to planning showrooms visits. We get an inside look at the Atlanta market and the rigorous preparation involved in stocking up for new launches. We also introduce Best Co Boutique's exciting offerings, including exclusive brands and curvy sizes, all set to debut during the grand opening on Labor Day weekend. This episode is a treasure trove of passion, fashion insights, and community spirit—don't miss it!
Hey everybody, this is Jessica with Best Co Boutique. Keep listening to Porch Parish the podcast.
Speaker 2:What's up, Zachary? It's sunny and 100 plus, but we're together. Today we're excited to introduce Jessica, the dynamic entrepreneur behind the soon-to-open Best Co Boutique. Jessica's journey is a remarkable one. She graduated from LSU with a degree in fashion merchandising, dreaming of opening her own boutique. However, life took her through a variety of experiences, from managing a boutique in Baton Rouge to working in real estate in Shreveport. Her path eventually led her to Zachary, where she and her family have deeply rooted themselves in our community.
Speaker 3:Hey, jessica, hi, and hey, jen Hello it's Jen she here from Fortune Parish co-hosting.
Speaker 2:Welcome, jessica. We are glad to have you Now. Jessica is back with a vision to fill a unique niche in our town. Bestie Co Boutique will cater to women 35 and up, offering a curated selection of high quality, stylish pieces that stand out. Today we'll dive into her story, the inspiration behind that boutique and what she envisions for this new chapter in Zachary. Stay tuned for an insightful conversation about passion, community and fashion. You already know what we do. We bring you the best of Zachary and the Baton Rouge region through candy conversations every Monday from our headquarters right here on Virginia Street. This is Portion Parish, the podcast. Stay tuned, we'll be right back with the lightning round. We're back.
Speaker 3:Okay, I have a question. I want to kick off this lightning round by asking if you, jessica, pronounce it niche or niche. I say niche, niche, so you said niche. Yeah, all right, you know what? However you say it just say it into the microphone.
Speaker 2:So you said niche. Yeah, all right, you know what? However you say it, just say it into the microphone. We're a little echoey, sorry, all right, okay, jessica. Family and pets. You want to shout out to any of them? You said one or the other.
Speaker 1:No, oh, I thought we were just saying lightning, not family or pets.
Speaker 2:You know what I thought you said lightning round, so I was serious. You have to save one.
Speaker 3:One gets struck by lightning.
Speaker 1:Clearly my family, but you know it'd be a close second.
Speaker 2:We're going to get a call from PETA after this. Great Okay, shout out to the pets. I don't know.
Speaker 3:Okay, tell us about.
Speaker 1:Dr Best. Okay, well, dr Best is my husband. We went to high school together. We were from Baton Rouge. We went to high school together, went to Parkview and we he is OBGYN out here, he's been out here. We've been here for 14 years, coming up on 15 soon, and we have three kids. We have Isla, who's a freshman, and we have Rosie, who is sixth grade, and JB, who is our little caboose going up into second grade.
Speaker 2:Cool names. Love that.
Speaker 1:They're all family names. Actually, isla is our great-grandmother, josh's great Josh's grandmother's name, and then Rosie is from my family, like you know, generations back. Yeah, andb is actually josh's grandfather's name. He was.
Speaker 2:that's his given name, jb he was given initials, so um his name. That is next level.
Speaker 1:His name is actually joshua hayes, which is my maiden name, and but we call him jb for his grandfather, so yeah, that's cute, cool, love that um all right oh, we have a dog max not belong, not a lightning strike, that's true, yeah, true because I'll save
Speaker 2:the kids. If there's any survival situation, dog's going um actually our kids can.
Speaker 1:Our kids can like run, so I'd probably grab max and then tell them to hurry, follow, follow behind.
Speaker 3:See, the problem with our kids names is our older kids, max and Lucy. Everybody's dogs are named Max or Lucy, so poor kids.
Speaker 1:Ours is actually mustache, max.
Speaker 3:Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:Von Braun Best. That's our dog's actual name, but Max is for short, cause that's a mouthful. It really is.
Speaker 2:We might have to start calling our our Max, because he keeps trying to grow this. He's 15 and he's like I think it looks good. I think I got a mustache and I'm like you don't.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you don't. You need to shave it because it's fuzzy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, All right, best thing to do with the kids in Baton Rouge.
Speaker 1:We do. I mean we do anything. We love movies. I mean I grew up going to movies all the time movie theater, so you know I'll take them to movies. We like go to the Knock Knock Museum with the Littlest. The girls really love to shop and so they are very much into going to all the stores out there.
Speaker 3:Sephora. Oh and Ulta. Why I don't know, but whenever I need my hair or makeup done, I just go downstairs to my 13-year-old's room because her stuff is way nicer than mine is?
Speaker 1:Yes, it is, and they like to do it. I'm like why, that's a thing, so yeah, so that's where we're at.
Speaker 2:All right, nice, best scenic drive in Louisiana. I put best in front of every one of these.
Speaker 1:On purpose. I hope you all pick up on that. Got it, got it. Best scenic drive in Louisiana. I love the drive up 61 to going towards Mississippi.
Speaker 3:I love that drive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, perfect, and I really also like the drive to Clinton going Mississippi that way as well. I think it's really pretty too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, agreed, I just found the tail end of Old Scenic to St Francisville to be really pleasant. I haven't driven that one until now, so like what is it 13 years later?
Speaker 1:14.
Speaker 2:I found a nice road. Yeah, amongst other many nice country roads, best greasy spoon in Shreveport.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, I love, I really liked Southville Grill. I mean that was. It was kind of like a kind of a diner, I guess, but it was delicious and we ate there all the time. I loved Shreveport.
Speaker 2:I loved living.
Speaker 1:I loved living there, yeah, cool, cool. All right, that's a lightning round.
Speaker 2:You passed All right. So, jessica, you graduated from LSU with a degree in fashion merchandising, but life had some different plans for you, as we alluded to before you ventured into this industry. Can you share a bit about that journey and how it led you to finally opening your own boutique?
Speaker 1:Sure. So I did graduate back forever ago in 2002 in fashion merchandising. I always planned to open my own store. That had been the plan forever. But Josh, boyfriend then um, lived in Shreveport. He was in his medical school. He was in his first or second or third year in medical school and so I decided to um move there. Uh, do something different. I got my real estate license, sold real estate up there while we lived up there and then we moved back down here. Um, it had never really been on my mind, you know, to open my own store. It was just kind of like a fleeting dream. Yeah, that's what I wanted to do when I was younger. But you know, things kind of changed. I had passed, I realized that there was a place, okay, so we moved, we came back home and that was for uh, josh's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we lived up there medical career.
Speaker 1:He went to school up there and then he did his residency up in shreveport yeah and then we moved back in 2010 when isla was about, uh, just three months old, three or four months old okay we moved back here and we wanted to be closer to our family who is from Baton Rouge.
Speaker 3:Yeah, do y'all have any family or ties to Zachary?
Speaker 1:No, we do not. Actually, some of our family moved here, though, oh cool Josh's parents moved here a couple of years ago. They live down the street. We live on the south end of the street. They live on the north end of the street and it is it's amazing bringing back the nuclear family. It is amazing we love it.
Speaker 1:We absolutely love it. Um, but we moved down here. We, um, you know we were already married, but we had isla, we had more kids and I was just, you know, a mom and doing all the things that you do with, you know, growing your family and building your family. So owning my own place was, I mean, it really wasn't anything I even thought about anymore, but, um, it just so happened that God had other plans for me and, um, looking forward to talking about that too and how, um, god actually is the one who who pushed me into this.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah, so all right. So what were some of the signs that finally convinced you or showed you that now was the right time?
Speaker 1:Okay, so I was, um. This was in May, so we are in August right now. So in May the school was almost over and I was trying to find a birthday present for um, a friend, and I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted a very, something, very specific. I wanted a cute outfit, something that I saw. When I saw it, I was like that is her. And so I went into a couple of different stores and, while everything had great inventory, it just did not have exactly what I was looking for. It did not have the mature feel that I wanted. So I was really frustrated and I left and I just was driving home and I passed the pink house.
Speaker 1:And I mean it was. It was amazing. I heard him say why not you? What about now? And so I went home and I was, you know, I didn't think too much about it. I went home and I was that's kind of weird, you know, that's just you wanting something. And so I prayed about it and I talked to Josh about it and I asked all my sweet friends to pray for it and I was like, if this is really something that he's telling me to do, if this is really something that I should be doing and not just you know, something I want to do, please, you know, remove all the roadblocks.
Speaker 1:You know, just make it easy, make it go, and he did. You know, just make it easy, make it go. And he did he. I mean he, he removed everything there. You know, there was somebody in line for the building, um with me and um, um it.
Speaker 2:Just God's hand was on it and it just, they just kind of moved away it just kind of worked out, so um I should have put that as a rider on the sign. Why not you?
Speaker 1:Why not?
Speaker 3:now.
Speaker 2:Could have been using that all these years.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, so it's um, that's, that is why I'm here. Yeah, so it, yeah, so it's great. Um, I'm excited. Clearly, I am terrified.
Speaker 2:It's a beautiful building, it's so I mean. All you have to do is say the pink building and everybody gets it.
Speaker 1:Correct I mean I called it iconic and Josh was like are you sure it's iconic?
Speaker 2:I'm like it's totally iconic, it is now it is, I think, it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's open?
Speaker 3:yeah, and I'm like the doors are locked.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm buying myself, no, um, so anyway, I'm, I'm excited, I'm really really excited about it. Um, laurie did a great job with the building. There's not too much that I had to do. I had to build out dressing rooms, um, and I had. I really want to put some concrete building. There's not too much that I had to do. I had to build out dressing rooms, um, and I had. I really want to put some concrete in, but it's not quite in my budget right now in that little driveway?
Speaker 1:Yes, but they're just going to drive over that right now. Okay, we're just we're just going to drive over it and everything's. I'm going to put some signs up and it's just not worth 7,000 right now to to just do a 300 square foot piece of concrete. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Got it, got it.
Speaker 3:So did you know that that was actually our office? About what?
Speaker 2:Nine or 10 years ago. Yes, tiger Town Rented. Yes, I did, it wasn't our brokerage, but yeah, yeah, we didn't own it.
Speaker 3:My broker at the time rented it.
Speaker 2:But I put that floor in. No we.
Speaker 3:We put that. No, we, we and Courtney.
Speaker 2:Tucker donated that floor.
Speaker 3:She did. It was actually kind of funny because we were renting it it was like the first time we'd had an office and we're like we hate this carpet and like without even telling.
Speaker 2:Mr Hank. Anything, he was Mr Hank Matthews. God bless him. He was the landlord.
Speaker 3:We just like ripped it up and totally renovated this building.
Speaker 2:He loved his green carpet.
Speaker 1:No, but he loved the floor. I'm sure he would not mind that at all.
Speaker 2:But then I ran out of that floor and I didn't put like two of them down and he was pretty he brought it up for at least two years after that he did yeah, just cover it with a rug.
Speaker 3:Just cover it with a rug, you got 98% of a free floor.
Speaker 1:man, Come on.
Speaker 2:It's fine, all right, uh, no, so I think everybody's probably really excited to hear more about the offering. Um, so we hear how you're kind of differentiated, yeah okay.
Speaker 1:So, um, serving is kind of big in our family. We, um, we both grew up in families that wanted to serve others and josh went into a career based on that and anybody who knows him while he is kind of like a teddy bear wrapped in barbed wire, you really, I mean he's kind of scary to some people. He will, I mean, give you the shirt off his back.
Speaker 1:He is the most giving man that there is. And so we tell our kids every day when they get off of school or when they're going to school hey, try to find somebody to help today, try to do something to help somebody. And then, when we pray at night, we're like who did you help? Oh cool. And we, you know, and our kids even ask us that hey, who did you help today? And there's some days.
Speaker 2:I'm like you know I didn't I?
Speaker 1:yeah, it's just it helps put it in the forefront of of being available to other people. You know, even if it's something as small as opening a door for somebody or and our kids have been like I opened the door for that person and that's great, that's what you need to do. That's where it starts. So, um, we are big into service and, uh, I feel that I want, I want best in code to be a place, um, where you feel good going in and then you can feel good about shopping Right.
Speaker 1:So, I want to be able to give back, like this community has blessed us um exponentially and been there for us, and what I want to do is, um, I don't know how it's going to look yet, but I want to do a portion of profits each quarter to a different nonprofit or charity, a local charity, and it doesn't have to be local, you know, but I, I, I would love for it to be local.
Speaker 1:And, um, I would like even eventually being able to to bring the customer's opinions and, hey, is there a family that might be a need that we could donate? Um family that might be a need that we could donate this quarter's proceeds to? Or, you know, is there a charity that you, like you personally, give to? Would that work for you? And so I'm interested to see if we can do that. Yeah, I mean, I feel like we can. I don't know why we couldn't do that.
Speaker 1:I mean, I know we can do that. We will be doing that, but I hope it takes off yeah.
Speaker 3:You know I hope it takes off. Yeah, you know, I hope that, like at Winn-Dixie or you know any grocery store or Walgreens or whatever, there's always that little thing that's like donate an extra dollar or round up for whatever.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's cool too. You can just yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's probably a setting on, like the square the square setting.
Speaker 1:Probably. Well, I'll be doing Shopify so. Okay, so okay, all right. Cool about any of that. It is.
Speaker 3:It is not user-friendly, yeah, not user-friendly at all, but we're working on it. Yeah, well, as a woman in your target demographic, over 35 years old and also petite I long ago probably when I was like 25 years old decided that boutiques are not and never would be for me, because you know, like you go so many times and you're like I can't wear this, like I'm not an off the rack person. So it's really exciting to me that you recognize that and that you're bringing something to Zachary that you know is for us. Yes, us girls, yes. Okay, retired hot girls yes.
Speaker 1:And it's important to have all of the pieces of clothing Like that's super important to me. I do not want all of the pieces of clothing.
Speaker 2:That's super important to me, there will be no crop tops.
Speaker 1:I tell everybody no booty shorts. It's not necessarily a mom place, but it's a shop for women, moms and grandmas. We will have multi-generational things. Isla's already gotten a couple things. She's in high school. My mother-in-law's like I love this, I love this and and she's 82, so she'll be 82, I think, this year. So, um, it's something that I think you know. Daughters can go in with their moms or grandmas and shop and oh, that's good, and I think that's fun.
Speaker 1:I think that's something we need. I mean, our kids love to go with their grandmother shopping all the time, so do ours. What is that? It's because they buy them.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm like I'm not going to buy that. I'm like, well, Gigi will, and I'm like don't spend Gigi's money.
Speaker 1:Correct.
Speaker 2:Gigi's on a fixed income.
Speaker 1:Correct. Stop doing it, yes.
Speaker 3:So what are some of the brands you had mentioned in our interview that we ran last week, that you're excited to be sharing some of your favorite brands? Yes, okay.
Speaker 1:So my favorite brands are Intro, which is what I'm wearing right now. It's one of my favorites. Look amazing this is not in my shop. This was from a different boutique in Lake Charles that I got back in the spring. But Intro is one of my favorite brands Fate, tcec, thml, some other Skyser Blue.
Speaker 3:I don't know any of those, but once I start shopping at your boutique, I'm going to be like it's TCEC, tcey.
Speaker 1:They're really, really cute. And then I think, well, I know, I'm going to be carrying cut fur cloth.
Speaker 3:I do know that one.
Speaker 1:So I will be the only person I think around that sells them. So that's kind of a good thing for me.
Speaker 3:And I do want to talk about the other things in addition to clothing that you're going to be offering. But before I forget, I wanted to ask you what your first experience going to market.
Speaker 1:Actually, that was not my first experience. Oh, it wasn't, no. So I ran clothing stores. I mean, I started working in a clothing store when I was 16. So I don't know if y'all remember, are you? Y'all are not from Baton.
Speaker 3:Rouge. I'm from.
Speaker 1:Baton Rouge? Okay. So Hudson Bay, do you remember that? Okay, it was in the. It was down at LSU. For a long time I worked at the original on Chime Street and then they opened into the Mall of Louisiana when it first opened in 98. So it was right under the escalators. I think like Mignon Faget may be there now, or something.
Speaker 1:So that's where I worked through college and then they closed down and then I was running another clothing store on LSU campus. But no, I've been to all. I've been to all the markets LA Magic and Vegas, dallas.
Speaker 3:What is your strategy? Because I've heard it's like very overwhelming. Oh, it's definitely overwhelming. So were you like I'm going to commit to this item right here or I'm going to see what all my choices are?
Speaker 1:and I'll circle back. Yeah, no, I don't. I don't do that. I am a circle backer kind of girl.
Speaker 1:So I had some friends with me, this, this go around, which was such a beautiful gift because a lot of things you know I would. Our system was I would pull something that I liked and they would go pull their things and then we'd get them all together and then we would just sort of like whittle out, like no, that's kind of you know. And then a lot of things were like that's very you and I'm like, well, yeah, I mean if, if I don't love it, like why would I want to sell it right?
Speaker 1:you know, but, um, so they they helped me a lot, um, to see that you know, not everything has to be exactly what you know I need. Yeah, so, um, they helped me a lot, but it was. It was really fun. Like you have to go in there with a budget one. It's not a free-for-all.
Speaker 3:I don't know anything about that.
Speaker 1:You got to pay for all that stuff at some point, right, that's what I've been told. So yeah, so you have to go in with a budget and a plan. So we I had not appointments, but I had a list, a plan of every booth, every showroom that I wanted to go to, and it took like the first day.
Speaker 3:We just sort of like looked around and I made notes at every, every showroom of the things that I wanted. I don't think she has any idea what we're talking about. Can you just kind of paint a visual picture of what market looks like? Sure, it's 11.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the Atlanta market is 11 stories and it's multiple buildings, right? 11 stories, 11 stories. It's crazy. So the apparel market is 11 stories and it's multiple buildings right, 11 stories, 11 stories. It's crazy. So the apparel market is in. The one that I went to is mostly in building three but, it's 11 floors and it's not just like I mean, it's massive floors breaking out in a sweat Just hearing this.
Speaker 2:It's the size of the mall, but like oh, it's stacked 11, like the mall of the biggest mall in the world. I mean it's it's.
Speaker 1:It's very overwhelming and you walk a minimum of 20 000 steps a day yeah, I mean it's, but it's so fun and overwhelming and they hold them what?
Speaker 1:twice a year? No, they hold them five times a year. Oh my gosh, wow. So yeah, they hold them five times a year. There's um at. I chose Atlanta because I was opening September, I wanted Labor Day, and so the Dallas win. While I will go to Dallas, the Dallas win was a little bit later it's two weeks later than Atlanta was, so I needed that extra time. So I went to the first one that I could, and they're usually a couple weeks apart. And then Magic and um the. They're usually a couple of weeks apart, and then magic is a couple of times a year, but Dallas and Atlanta are five times a year.
Speaker 3:And then magic is basically like a trade show.
Speaker 1:Right, it's definitely a trade show. They have permanent showrooms where people um, that's where they work and they they sell. You can come in.
Speaker 1:You don't have to go at market time, you could come in whenever and place an order and then you know, during the slow times, they have sprinter vans and they take their racks of clothes and they travel to their shops um their customers and they travel and you know, show their line when you can't make it too. So we did that and it was, it was, it was something, it was a lot and we would go until it closed.
Speaker 3:And then it was you and we would go until it closed, and then it was.
Speaker 1:You wake up when you're there before it opens and you're there when it closes. It's only four days.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you have to plan they. You know market is probably three to six months in advance. That's what you're buying for three to six months out, and so they have some immediate. So I already have some things that I bought that came in already, but the majority of my stuff, my initial launch product, was the same brands it's just their immediate that were available wholesale on their websites so that I didn't have to be at market cause I missed the original markets in June.
Speaker 3:Okay, so moving on from apparel, what else will you have in stock, at Best in Co?
Speaker 1:So we have, we have a few shoes. We're trying out shoes. Um, we have a lot of basic shoes like closet, staple type shoes, nothing, you know. No, like crazy, I don't even know how to explain it no, rhinestone boots, or yes, yes, yes, a lot of flats because, let's be real, lots of women like flats. I mean like we're just too old for that pain and for comfort.
Speaker 3:Yes correct.
Speaker 1:So I have a lot of flats, Um, you know, a lot of slides, some really cute tennis shoes that have not made it but are common. Um, we have some handbags, quite a few handbags actually.
Speaker 2:What kind of?
Speaker 1:brands. So we have Caroline Hill handbags, and then we have some Jen and co handbags, um, and then lots of jewelry, lots and lots and lots and lots of costume, jewelry or no it's not. I mean, I wouldn't say it's costume jewelry when you say costume jewelry.
Speaker 2:I think of like, yeah, I think of like my great great grandmother yeah, um, who was cuban?
Speaker 1:who had these ginormous um little?
Speaker 2:they were clipons, but they look like buttons with, like all this jewelry, because they didn't pierce their ears.
Speaker 1:I don't think back then, but, um, so I do. So my price points are I have everything, um, like you know, some clothes that are anywhere from $29. And then I have some things that are, you know, $129. The majority of it's right down in the middle, you know, between 50 and 70. And jewelry is not uh expensive like that. I don't plan on carrying. I don't personally wear super expensive jewelry, um, but I will have, you know, different price ranges for people who do. I mean, I'm not going to have super expensive, I think. I think probably I'll have. I think the most expensive thing I have is like a ring that's like 70 or $80 or something like that which is a lot for a race.
Speaker 1:Actually, this ring, which is like my absolute favorite, and then this one too, I bought them at um market, and then I went and bought the remaining ones for my shop.
Speaker 1:So, um, but a price points in jewelry or you know, anywhere from $20, 15 to um the 79, $80. So it's not, it's not crazy expensive or anything. And then I don't really plan on carrying gifts just because we have great gift shops out here, and I don't want to. I want Best in Co to be a place that you go to. You're looking for something different, like we all live in the same town. We don't all need the same stuff. So I want to be able to carry the brands that not everybody has and the outfits that not everybody has.
Speaker 3:and we don't want to all be wearing the same thing correct.
Speaker 1:I will not purchase. I don't. I'm not going to go deep into product assortment. I'm I'm um, just really going to get a maximum of probably six per size to try out, and the sizes range from small to extra large depending on the label. Every label is different on how they that they do things, how they tag things. But also I'm trying out plus sizes. So I had a lot of ladies that you know were asking for some really cute extended sizes, and a lot of my favorite brands now offer that.
Speaker 3:I've noticed that too, with petite sizing. So will you be having, will you be offering anything like in short or in long?
Speaker 1:sizes. No, no because Okay, we've got some great seamstresses, yeah, so in this in boutique I guess they don't really offer like different lengths for anything like that. It's strictly like regular sizing and then it's extended or plus sizing, so I'm going to try out. I have about 15 different styles that are extended sizes or curvy sizes is what I'm going to call them. They're going to be my curvy besties, so I'll have my besties, you know, like my clients are my besties, like people that come in are going to be my besties.
Speaker 1:you know, like my clients are my besties, like people that come in are gonna be my besties and and that's so fun, it's really great. Josh is like that's so dumb no, I think it's amazing.
Speaker 3:I think it's amazing. I have totally hijacked this podcast interview from no, no, are you kidding me?
Speaker 2:I'm loving it. It's like I'm still here in the corner.
Speaker 3:No, this is great, it's great okay, so, um, we kind of touched on it earlier, but tell us really who your target audience is and how you want them to feel when they come in and when they leave. Okay, like, can I bring my 13 year old daughter there?
Speaker 1:totally, if she can fit in smalls and some extra smalls. So, it's not going to have any kind of tween clothing or anything like that. So our sixth grader, who is 11, she actually can't fit into anything. I mean, she wants to, she tries on like everything in there but, she's not quite, she will get there.
Speaker 1:Isla, she's. She's a freshman, she's 14. Quite, she will get there. Um, isla, she's. She's a freshman, she's 14. She can fit into the smalls and extra smalls. So I definitely think that there are a lot of things and they span multi-generations. My target customer is basically me. It's, um, it's a woman who is 35 or older. I mean, clearly younger women can shop there, but it's, it's geared more towards, you know, know, like I said earlier, full pieces of clothing, like, not necessarily modest.
Speaker 3:I don't know if modest is the right word, but you know, we're not clubbing baby, we're yeah like cover those ankles right. No, not necessarily covering the ankles.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I mean we're done with all that I'm done with all that partying like um, I was never a partier in college so I'm really not a partier right now. I like to go to bed by like 9. 9, 9.30.
Speaker 2:For real, nothing good happens after 9.30.
Speaker 3:That's what he tells the kids. That's the truth.
Speaker 2:That's what you taught me.
Speaker 1:That's the truth. I mean 100%. That is the truth. Talking about when we're closing it down, opening it up when is the grand opening of Best in Code Grand opening? Is going to be Labor Day weekend, so I actually plan on being open Friday, august 30th, which it would be normal store hours. 10 to 5 would be my typical store hour, thursdays. It's going to be a little different on Thursdays after that because I teach Bible study preschool Bible study on Thursdays and I'm not willing to give that up yet so.
Speaker 1:I get out of that at 12, and so I'll open this shop on Thursdays at 1230. But we open Labor Day weekend, friday the 30th, and we'll be open Friday, saturday, sunday and Monday. Because it's a holiday weekend. I won't typically be open Sunday or Monday, but I wanted to make sure that you know people who are off of work have a chance to come by, since they may not, you know, have to be able to come during the week.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and what are your, your daily normal hours?
Speaker 1:So my daily normal hours are Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday and Saturday, so just every day, or not. Thursday it's 10 to five, just the normal boutique hour Thursdays is going to be later, but I'm going to stay open later, so I'm going to come in later. 12.30 probably is when I'll come in, and then I'm going to close at 7. So that way people who get off work can come in and shop. Love it.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, we got to leave it there for today, but we're neighbors now, right we are neighbors.
Speaker 1:The old um train track that's covering, uh, that's blocking us yeah, so that's.
Speaker 3:That's uh a little committee I'm gonna rope you into when I have the energy to take up that um, they're trying city's.
Speaker 2:It's just working with okay. So we need to help people to cross the train track. Like my dad, he's handicapped. He can't get over that train track to go over there. When Roly Poly was over there he couldn't do it. So you know, if we want walkability, we got to mean it. We got to put our dollars behind it. We also got to convince that train company to be about that as well.
Speaker 3:They're very hard to reach, but I will say that the city has told me that there is the money out there allocated to be able to put a crosswalk. We just need to, as a community, figure out the best place to put it. They said not the train tracks, right, yeah, I guess maybe like ahead of the Depot, but we've got you coming in, we've got the new Depot diner. We live here now and we're having people out here and you know everything else that's going on downtown.
Speaker 2:So it's it's only a matter of time before this is like a really vibrant hub and we we want to push toward connectivity and people being able to safely go from your place all the way down to the farmer's market. You know, yes, yeah, yeah, I'm all for that. Yeah, all right. Well, thanks for being bleeding edge of the the downtown uh scene and welcome. All right, that's it for today. We'll be keeping an eye out for the grand opening announcement. Jessica, thank you so much for joining us today and giving us a glimpse into what you have come into downtown, and thanks to our listeners for tuning in. Be sure to follow us on social media for updates and Best in Co's opening and all the latest happenings in Zachary. Huge shout-outs to our community partners, like Brew and Breck and the City of Zachary, who stand with us in our mission to make Zachary a place where every resident feels heard and engaged. Thanks to the generosity and support of our community partners, the magazine, podcast and everything you see online is possible and free. The three T's that make up quality of life. Pick up trash when you see it Foster technology at any expense. And if you want to retain the best talent, we've got to have an attitude of tolerance towards those diverse voices so we can begin to engage everyone's talents in our community. Those diverse voices are the creative engines that will drive the future success of our economy. All right, guys, until next time. Bye-bye Now.
Speaker 2:If you're out there yelling encore and you're still there and want a little bit more community unity, we're going to do a little encore this week. So, if you know me, I'm a huge music lover. I'm going to pair one of my favorite songs with a little guided community inspo session. If that's not for you, I'm telling you it's cool If you're on a run, while you listen, or just going out about your work day. Take a deep breath and enjoy. Here's Alan Toussaint's version of Cast your Fates to the wind.
Speaker 2:Find a comfortable position, whether seated or standing, close your eyes, if you'd like, and take a deep breath in and slowly exhale. Allow yourself to relax and settle into this moment and, as you breathe naturally, picture yourself strolling or riding in the heart of Zachary, surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of our community. Feel a connection to the ground beneath you, the same ground we all share. With each breath, think about the people of Zachary, your neighbors, friends and family. Picture the places that make our town special the parks, schools and local businesses. Please take a moment to appreciate being a part of this community. Let the music guide you to a place of calm within yourself.
Speaker 2:Focus on your breathing, let any tension you may feel start to fade, allow yourself to feel peaceful and centered and, as you continue to relax, think about something you're grateful for in Zachary. It could be a person, a place or a memory. Hold that thought and imagine sharing that sense of gratitude and positivity with others around you. Now imagine this feeling of goodwill spreading across our town, bringing people together. Picture a community where everyone feels connected, supported and valued. Take one big last deep breath in feeling calm and connected to Zachary. When you're ready, gently open your eyes, carrying this sense of peace and community with you throughout your work week, your weekend or wherever and whenever you choose to listen. Thank you for being a part of this community. Bye-bye now, thank you.
