After more than a decade in business, Roxy and Greg Herr have purchased their own building to allow them to continue to expand the Shabby Shack boutique.
The Shabby Shack opened last week in its new, larger location at 1533 Wabash Ave. The boutique, which sells everything from hand-painted furniture to artist-designed clothing and accessories, previously was located in about 3,900 square feet of space at 2621 W. White Oaks Drive.
Roxy Herr said they were ready to both expand the boutique and own their own space.
“We just felt like we wanted to make our shop grow and be able to fix it up the way we wanted it to be and really make it our own space,” she said.
The move increased Shabby Shack’s total space to 5,800 square feet. The boutique reopened in the new location on Jan. 15, but is not yet using all the new space. Herr said they plan to expand a wall in the boutique area to make a large furniture display area and to fit out some storage space at the back of the store to allow them to offer furniture-painting classes and possibly other events.
Shabby Shack’s new location previously housed Benchmark Auto Sound and Security, which closed in December when the owner retired. The building on Wabash also is home to the Once in a Blue Moon International Gift Gallery, which will continue to lease space from the Herrs.
The Herrs opened the first Shabby Shack location in 2015 in about 500 square feet on Walnut Street, selling only furniture and home decor. As the business grew, so did its product offerings. In addition to home items, the shop now carries clothing and accessories from designers such as Bit of Vinyl, Bren, Oh My Gauze, JKS, Lucy Fox and Tiny Token, which is a line of handmade jewelry designed by the Herrs’ daughter, Jen Hughes.
Shabby Shack’s operating hours in its new location are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Being on Wabash, with another cute shop right next door, we hope it will draw people in,” Herr said. “It’s a tough time right now for small business, but we think this is a good location for us.”