New Tea boutiques put different spin on styling

By Garrett Ammesmaki

Bella & Birch Boutique will be opening up shop next to the Tea Weekly offices off North Carla Avenue and East First Street. They are looking to open their doors on July 11.

Owner Elizabeth Carrell is bringing over a decade of experience in retail to the venture, alongside a passion for clothes and style, as well as a love for the Tea community.

“I’ve always had a love for clothes and fashion,” Carrell said. “And I’ve been all over retail.”

Bella & Birch marks the second boutique to move into Tea this year, with Revive Boutique opening off East Brian Street in April. While both offer high-end women’s clothing and add business to the growing community, they are coming to the game from different angles, each with their own spin on what a boutique can offer.

Lindsay Kinzer opened Revive Boutique on April 1 of this year, after the prior owner of the space at 615 E. Brian St. reached out to her. Their ribbon cutting was held by the Tea Chamber for Development in May.

A Sioux Falls resident, Kinzer was ready to grow her business from a mobile boutique and digital marketplace, and thought there was no better place for it than Tea.

“I like the small community,” Kinzer said. “It’s a tight-knit community, and I wanted to set down my roots.”

Kinzer had the mobile boutique out for Teapot Days, and is in the process of moving her stock back into her store. As for the TCD, she’s happy what they are doing for small businesses in the area, and said they are very supportive of shopping small and local.

Revive offers high-end women’s clothing from size small to 3XL, Kinzer said. And as she continues to grow, she is hoping to add a “brotique” to offer male clothing, but is still working on figuring out vendors.

Her spin on the boutique game is to offer free drinks to customers, including alcohol. Customers can also book a two hour shopping event for free, which includes drinks and appetizers, as long as they have five or more people in attendance, Kinzer said. A percentage of the sales made during the event will go back to the host or a charity of their choice.

Right now, Revive has limited hours as Kinzer still works another job in Sioux Falls. The store is open from noon to 7 pm Thursday through Saturday, but as she grows, Kinzer plans to hire and expand those hours

.

Bella & Birch will also offer private shopping experiences, which Carrell is calling “styling sessions.”

Alongside private sessions, the shop will offer consignment clothes at a discount.

It will cost $50 for an hour long styling session, Carrell said. If the customers don’t bring their own clothing, that $50 can be used toward purchases in the store. Bella & Birch will offer tops, dresses, jeans, shorts, shoes, accessories, and jewelry, alongside their higher-end women’s and children’s clothing.

Originally from Sioux Falls, Carrell moved to Tea five years ago with her partner, Jason. She started formulating the plan for Bella & Birch around two years ago, and got paperwork finished for her L.L.C back in August.

While she has been looking for storefronts around the area, including some in Sioux Falls, “none of them felt right.”

“A commute seemed silly,” Carrell said. “Besides, I wanted to keep it local, and help the Tea community grow.”

Her partner grew up in the Tea area, and graduated from Lennox high school. The two of them live just down the street from the future Bella & Birch location with their daughter.

“That’s where the name for the shop comes from,” Carrell said. “My daughter’s name is Bella, and we have a birch tree in our front yard — Bella & Birch.”

After a Facebook post announcing her new business, Carrell met up with Ruby Zuraff from TCD. Zuraff helped her find the storefront.

Though she picks up the keys on July 1, Carrell and her family are going to do some renovating to the space that used to be Dance Ballroom & Studio.

“I really love the visual merchandising end of retail,” Carrell said. “I just love having a beautiful space for people to come look at and shop.”

The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) will begin reconstruction on the intersection of Six Mile Road and S. D. Highway 42 (Arrowhead Parkway) on Monday, June 27, 2022.

Six Mile Road will be closed from East 10th Street to 26th Street. Highway 42 (Arrowhead Parkway) will remain open to traffic. The reconstruction work on Six Mile Road is anticipated to be completed by Aug. 12, 2022.

The overall project will reconstruct approximately one mile of Highway 42 and one-half mile of Six Mile Road. Work includes grading, curb and gutter, storm sewer, PCC pavement, lighting, signals, permanent signing, and pavement marking.

The prime contractor for this project is T&R Contracting of Sioux Falls. The overall completion date for this $20 million project is Sept. 29, 2023.

To learn more, please find the project summary, timeline, and maps on our SDDOT website at https://dot.sd.gov/siouxfalls-pcn-05c2-05c6-06yq.