Tap House Boutique Brings French Fashion and More to Manistee
What began as an experimental pop-up in July in the City of Manistee has succeeded. Tap House Boutique, owned by Martha Davis, is bringing a new women’s fashion destination to the region with an authentic French flair.
And, hot off the press, Davis is already relocating her pop-up to Suite 102 in the Manistee Marketplace at 390 River Street, doubling her store space and increasing visibility along Manistee’s River Street.
Just some of the fashions available at Tap House Boutique housed in River Street Marketplace in downtown Manistee.
“Our goal is to provide special, unique fashion to dress women as they are,” said Davis. “Our theme is to celebrate every customer by helping them with their fashion choices. Much of our apparel is designed in Paris and made in Italy. We purchase often and in limited quantities to keep our pieces fresh and different.”
Davis said that the response to their pop-up experience was amazing, despite being in an “under construction atmosphere in the new River Street Marketplace.
“The owner of the River Street Marketplace, Robert Gras, could not have been more generous or accommodating in helping us get underway,” Davis said. “When we found that the pop-up was out-performing our 10-year old store in Grand Ledge, we decided to entirely relocate the store to Manistee, a community we have fallen in love with. My husband and I have also relocated – it’s been quite an upheaval but also a labor of love.”
Gras says the Boutique is fulfilling a big part of his goal – helping new businesses use his newly repurposed building to prosper and make economic waves for Manistee.
“It’s thrilling to see business owners use our property just as it was intended,” says Gras, who opened the Marketplace in July. “The fact that they have brought their entire enterprise to Manistee speaks volume for the appeal of Martha’s business as a destination for shoppers.”
Venture North Funding and Development, a nonprofit with a social mission to help people and communities prosper through low-cost capital and no-cost consulting, supported completion of the River Street Marketplace with financing capital.
“It’s great to have a role in helping people achieve their dreams,” said Venture North Lending Specialist Steve Brower.
While stylish clothing is clearly a specialty of Tap House Boutique, there’s plenty of other ‘Michigan Made’ items to peruse and purchase, as well! From specialty popcorn to beautiful bread baskets complete with clay warming inserts: it’s not just fashion!
Tap House Boutique offers women’s apparel in sizes small to 3X. Their fashions for Fall will include sweaters, jackets, jeans, layered pieces, hand bags and more. Brands include Parsley and Sage, Mud Pie, Judy Blue, Karen Hart and Clea Ray. While shopping, you can also choose from fair-trade goods as well as a selection of specialty chocolates, dips and even jerky – all Michigan made. Fair trade product sales help support the fight against human trafficking overseas.
“We even have jeans with holes proving we don’t buck fashion trends,” laughs Davis. “We take everything into account to satisfy our customers – style, size, price, new trends. We will constantly evolve according to what our shoppers want. We will work to make every shopper visit a new experience with fun and exciting fashion statements from our expanded location.”
“Stay tuned,” says Davis. “We will have some very unique items coming in throughout fall and winter and prices will range from the $20’s to over $100. If we don’t have what you want, we will do our best to stock what you need.”
Davis also has big plans for the store and Manistee that you’ll hear about soon. Like an evening “Fashion Crawl” involving several area fashion stores. And like an activated store front that is fun and exciting and maybe even a periodic “fashion column” toward building a women’s apparel brand identity for Manistee.
“We’ve taken root in Manistee and love being here,” said Davis.
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Contact: Tim Ervin - Ph: 231-794-0089 - Email: timervinassoc@gmail.com
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