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After being empty for 10 years, the first floor space at 115 West Water St. will now be home to local shop Rendered Unique. The Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors helped kick off the shop’s opening on Jan. 30.
Rendered Unique, a home goods store which curates products from 35-plus women-owned businesses, begins their seventh year of business in the new and bigger space four blocks west of their original location. The shop features and sells Iowa-made products, including flour sack towels, candles and apparel. Owner Jamie Gavle said she is pleased to be in the new space.
“This location is in the heart of downtown Decorah, and it became available just when we were talking about how we needed to graduate into a bigger space,” she said. “We loved the brick house space at 309 East Water. It was just time for the business to grow.”
Gavle says customers can expect a similar product portfolio with expanded options and new product lines which complement the aesthetic she’s curated for years.
Many residents and visitors to Decorah will remember the 115 West Water St. retail space as Bargain Outlet, which was in operation from December of 1993 to December of 2015. Before that it was home to Sears Catalog Store from 1943 to 1993. Prior to that, it was A. & P. Grocery and Hutchinson Grocery.
Gavle was sure to give credit to new building owners Sean and Annika Brown, who purchased the attractive downtown structure from Janet Porter at the end of September.
“The Browns worked really hard to prep the first floor space,” she said. “They invested time and money into basic improvements, of course, but also understood the value of making choices that honored the historic nature of building. They exposed original brick walls, honored the beautiful tin ceiling and chose a new floor that was practical and ready for lots of foot traffic.”
Sean Brown said he was happy to get the space ready for a new tenant but wanted people to also know the role that Porter played during her tenure.
“The building is in amazing shape, both the interior and exterior, and that is really a gift from Janet who purchased it in 1986 and took ownership very seriously,” Brown said. “She kept up with maintenance and repairs, even when there wasn’t an active business on the first floor. She cares a lot about the building and about Decorah. She was a good caretaker. We are thankful for it and everyone who comes later will be too.”
The space which Rendered Unique left is already home to a new store. Storied Folk and Co. is the new tenant at 309 East Water St., where owner Linley Cavin is opening her first brick and mortar location, after a decade of pop-up markets and online sales. The store’s soft opening was scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 1.
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