What’s New on Eastern Avenue?
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Retail streets change all the time. St. Johnsbury’s own Eastern Avenue houses a wide variety of stores and businesses, from brokerage firms CitiFinancial and A.G. Edwards at the top of the hill, to clothing shops Elizabeth’s Large Size Fashions and Sunshine Boutique down at the bottom of the slope. And in between, there are lots of new things happening – businesses changing hands, new shops and services, stores moving. Let’s take a little stroll up Eastern Avenue…
Starting near the corner of Railroad Street is St. Johnsbury’s newest shop, The Vermont Apron Company. Owner Susannah Allen says, “We had our soft opening Saturday, March 1, in the middle of a snowstorm! But there were still plenty of people in and out, curious to now what we’re all about.” The shop carries a number of different handmade items such as aprons, carpetbags, skirts, and tea cozies. “I’ve been a dressmaker my whole career and have sold in crafts fairs and farmer’s markets for several years. This store will spotlight the products that my customers like best – and I can control the environment." Susannah welcomes everyone to stop in and have your picture taken with “Wesley” – her handsome male mannequin that is already drawing a fan club!
Just next door is The Sewing Studio. Owner Carolyn Cross moved her shop from the current Vermont Apron Company’s space in November to the larger
storefront so she could add more to her business. As the name suggests, Carolyn makes clothing repairs and alterations. She also handles high-end ladies’ resale clothing – “not consignment,” she is quick to mention. Her latest line of business is doing custom reupholstered furniture and custom slipcovers. She also sells home decorating fabrics that Carolyn says are not available anywhere else in the area.
Walking up the street a block or so brings you to a new beauty salon, called Fusion 134. The shop brings together four of the area’s stylists under one roof. Stephen Donna and Angela Hurlbert opened the salon in July, and in October, Suzanne Geoffroy and Lorie Achilles joined them. They handle haircuts, styling, perms, coloring, and nails. According to Suzanne, the response from customers has been great. “We think this is the perfect location for us,” says Suzanne. “We don’t feel new anymore. We feel like we belong here.”
Jaboh Too, another beauty salon a few doors away, has aBeverly Hood big announcement. “Vaughn will soon be working at this location,” says Beverly Hood. “We own this building and we’re expanding our space to bring Vaughn ‘uptown’ so we’re all together.” Along with Julie Veilleux, the threesome at Jaboh Too do haircuts and color, and sell the full line of Aveda products.
Bringing spring at All About Flowers Near the top of Eastern Avenue is All About Flowers, a full-service flower shop that has been in St. Johnsbury for a number of years. So what’s new here?
A new owner – Marc LaRose, who is also Assistant Chief of St. Johnsbury’s Fire Department. Marc and his wife Diane own the building, and bought the All About Flowers business from Lallie Mambourg and Sandy Lazerick in October. But the people who create those beautiful flower arrangements are the same, according to Sandy. She and Jessie Stevenson, Marcia Pettigrew, and Ellen Gonyaw staff the shop and provide it with the same level of service they have been proud to offer. “We’re really building our wedding business,” says Jessie, “and we’re improving our website as well.”
All this activity, and we've just walked up ONE side of the street (right-hand side, as you're walking uphill)! Go ahead and stroll up or down Eastern Avenue and discover for yourself what's new there!
