It’s a common saying that two minds are better than one. Well, these two Columbus business owners tend to prove just that.
Shelby Pritchett and Megan Kleis have decided to expand their digital stores by sharing one brick-and-mortar location at 2401 Hwy. 45 N.
Allen Dale’s men’s clothing and candle shop, along with Waverly’s Boutique, a women’s and children’s clothing store, will open Saturday under the same roof in the former Endless Beauty Salon.
Kleis told me she and Pritchett came up with the idea after establishing a friendship while Pritchett was buying kid clothes from her store’s Facebook page.
“A couple of months ago, we sat down and talked about it,” Kleis said. “So we just decided to try it, give it a shot and see how it goes.”
Kleis also said she named her half of the store after her daughter Waverly. She will keep the online version, Olivia’s Outlet, which has been up and running since summer 2020 on Facebook because she doesn’t want to confuse any of her non-local customers who have been using the website.
“I have almost 10,000 followers on my page,” Kleis said. “Those are customers I don’t want to lose, and I want to keep my business separate there.”
Pritchett told me she started Allen Dales, named after her two grandfathers, in August 2021. At first, she sold candles in her Columbus home, but she always had a love for men’s fashion, which she saw as limited in the Columbus area.
“I wanted to do something in their memory (her grandfathers) along with my dream of bringing men’s clothing somewhere,” Pritchett said.
“That’s kind of how I got started. There are not many places to choose for men’s clothing in Columbus. I’m going to offer some youth boys and some baby boy clothes.”
Once you finish picking out cute clothes for the little ones or buying something special for that lucky someone this Saturday afternoon, you might consider visiting the local Oktoberfest celebration this Friday and Saturday located at Munson’s and Brothers at 301 Second Ave. N.
Co-owner Ryan Munson told me the beer garden is partnering with the Columbus Arts Council to put on the two-day event, so put on your lederhosen, grab your favorite stein like it’s 1895 and say hello!
Moving to Starkville, Nick Plava, owner of Amore Italian Restaurant in Oxford, is opening the Double Headed Eagle Bar and Grill at 1545 Saint Andrews Lane, in the old Cowbells building by Halloween!
Plava said he obtained a lease on the building in July and plans to open the business as a sports bar and grill serving classic burgers, pizza and finger foods. Right now, he is just waiting on his liquor and food license before swinging open the doors.
“It’s set up with all the TVs and everything,” Plava said. “We’re going to have some pool tables, dart boards and hopefully DJs and bands.”
Spin City laundromat owner Jason Perry opened his third location Tuesday at 800 Louisville St. across the street from Starkville High School.
Perry told me he had initially planned to open in July but was pushed back after a delay in acquiring an automated sliding door.
“Mid-summer was definitely the plan, but we didn’t want to open with the doors that we had,” Perry said. “It’s just too hard to get in and out of a laundromat with kids and loads of laundry. The automatic door makes it much easier to get in and out.”
He said the new location will offer a coffee station and places for people to do homework while they do laundry.
We got a coffee bar set up,” Perry said. “You can come in here, bring your laptop computers, bring your devices. We have charging stations where you can do work if you want to while your laundry is set up.”
Unfortunately, as the leaves fall every year, so too do local businesses close from time to time. Magnolia Social, located at 111 N. Jackson St., announced it was closing its doors on Sept. 23 in an evening Facebook Post.
I reached out to owners William and Ellen Rogers but never heard anything back. I’m sure their southern-style cuisine will be sorely missed in Starkville.
Finally, the Main Street Association and the Greater Starkville Development Partnership are hosting Sales and Ales, an event at 5:30 Friday at 315 University Drive in front of the Bank of Commerce. Participating businesses will provide event goers with a free cup and craft beer tasting from several local retailers, who will also offer 20 percent discounts in their stores.
Well, that’s all for now. See you next week with more goings on in business!
Dispatch reporter Grant McLaughlin writes about business openings and closings, as well as other unique business news. Send business tips to [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.