Mother-daughter duo Gail Bronson Boucher and Kim Boucher, co-owners of Shawville’s Bronsons Boutique, unveiled a new store over the weekend with a grand opening event.
The new store, called Plaza 305, will primarily house clothing items, while neighbouring Bronsons focuses on gifts and accessories.
The co-owners hosted the grand opening for three days and celebrated with door prizes. Six community members were awarded a $25 credit at the store.
Kim said the community came out in force to support them during the opening weekend.
“We’ve had excellent feedback,” she said. “We’ve heard this is what Shawville needs. We’re enhancing the business scene and our two businesses compliment the wonderful boutiques that we already have in Shawville.”
Three years ago, Gail and Kim opened their boutique in a small shop in Shawville. Shortly after, they moved around the corner into a larger space. Kim said it’s very special to grow her business with her mom.
“My mom and I have always been close and we both love fashion,” she said. “What better way to spend time with your mom than through business? We get to do something we love together and quality time is the greatest gift.”
Gail and Kim are originally from Quyon and felt the support of the community at the grand opening.
“It’s nice to do work in the community in which you live,” Kim said. “I find it very rewarding and people are very friendly.”
She said they had to call in reinforcements to manage the crowd after the line grew long enough to wind through the whole store.
Plaza 305 and Bronsons Boutique both feature Canadian-made items for a reasonable price, something Kim said is a priority for them.
“Our number one priority with our business is quality, made in Canada and price point,” she said. “All our customers really appreciate that it’s made in Canada.”
She said they have customers in Shawville and beyond. “We get a lot of people from as far as Otter Lake or Wakefield or even on the Ontario side.” She said they’ve even had a customer from Australia, their furthest customer.
She said there was a bit of stress leading up to the grand opening because the Bronsons Boutique Facebook page was hacked. Over 900 followers disappeared overnight, making it hard to get the word out about the event.
But, with the help of Kristina Lafrance from Fabulous 5 Communication, they were able to start restoring their following.
Kim expressed her gratitude for the support and hopes that the business will get back its loyal Facebook supporters.
