I read with interest columnist Susan Wozniak’s perspective on the changes happening in downtown Northampton published June 23.
I have worked on Main Street for 27 years as a salesperson, marketing director, co-owner of Strada for 13 years, and now Strada’s sole proprietress. My outlook is slightly more optimistic.
While I wouldn’t dispute Wozniak’s statement that increasing rents put pressure on retailers, Strada and Essentials are moving to a shared space because owner Colette Katsikas and I are excited about joining forces. We feel that we will complement each other’s businesses and create a rewarding shopping experience and have found a landlord who was enthusiastic about supporting our vision.
Strada and Essentials will be two independent stores, both owned by women, who will do all their own buying and have built their stores from the brick walls inward based on their vision for what their stores should be for their customers. My staff, which includes my longtime employee Tracy Harris and my daughter Ariana, a junior at Northampton High School, work with me every day to display goods in a way that helps our customers see the variety of styles that we have on the floor.
When my customers leave my store happy, with shoes in hand, that money flows to my employees (all local), the tradespeople who built and will maintain my store, and to my fantastic landlord, D.A. Sullivan & Sons, who believes in our vision for co-retailing and who has helped us build our dream because they want our downtown to shine.
Wozniak wonders if some energetic person will know exactly what Northampton needs and will push the city in a new direction. Every day, we will do our best to serve our customers and provide them with kind of service that will leave them happy to have visited our store.
Running a small business does take tremendous effort, but with the support of our community, we feel that we are up to the task of providing customers with the experience that makes Northampton special.
Anna Bowen
Florence