Downtown Zeeland business owner Jackie Bordner recently opened her much-anticipated MainStreet Sweets candy store at 150 E. Main. The shop offers chocolates, novelty and bulk candies, peanuts and has a unique candy-themed décor.
Bordner, who also owns Clothes Junkie at 141 E. Main, says shoppers have been asking for a specialized candy store.
“I’ve been getting great feedback,” she says. “I did the front windows of the store right away so people knew we were opening. It’s fun to hear kids outside say, ‘Oooh, a candy store!’ People kept trying to come in the store when we were working on it.”
Bordner chose a different route for her candy store décor than just shelves and bins of sweets. She has been working for a month on an interior that features seven bold, primary colors and fun accents that create a candy fantasy world in her 1,050-square-foot shop.
“Even during bad times,” she says, “there’s something about a candy store. People still come.”
Zeeland City Marketing Director Abby deRoo says MainStreet Sweets is a welcome addition to the downtown business district.
“The candy store is really filling a niche in the community,” she says.
The downtown district has seen growth in the past several months from both new and not-so-new business owners.
“We are definitely seeing current business owners reinvest in their community with second businesses,” deRoo says.
Bordner says she chose to open her businesses in Zeeland because of the community’s support of its hometown entrepreneurs.
“My heart is here,” she says. Bordner opened Clothes Junkie six years ago. Since then, she also opened and closed a gift basket business. It had a candy component, but that wasn’t enough for Bordner.
“I wanted a store with a more overt candy theme,” she says. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Source: Jackie Bordner, Clothes Junkie and MainStreet Sweets; Abby deRoo, City of Zeeland
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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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