New or Newbury?

New, or Newbury?

New shop owners seek Boston feel

By Andrea Gregory

Think of Newbury Street in Boston. The high-end shops, trendy salons and elegant dining make it a destination spot for a day of spending. Now, think suburbs. That is what a number of new business owners have done, aiming to transform downtown Andover into a place where one’s credit card limit might be the only limitation on the latest fashion and frills a shopper can take home.

A wave of new retail shops has splashed into Andover’s downtown. Stores such as Jeans Addiction, dresscode and sparkle Boston have brought t merchandise usually sought in more urban setting into Andover’s quaint center.

“I feel like we are putting Andover on the map,” said Meah Starr Kadziela owner of Jeans addiction on Post Office Avenue, about the newer retail shops opening in town.

Kadziela store carries the latest and hippest jeans that are frequently sported by big-name celebrities, such as Seven for All Mankind jeans which hug the hips of Jessica Simpson, Beyonce and Britney Spears, she said.

According to Kadziela, her small boutique has been busy, and she is already ordering more inventory. She said on third of her merchandise sold in the first week she opened. Just like her jeans, she said her Andover location feel like a perfect fit.

Kadziela is one of several business owners who sees downtown Andover as up and coming. She said all for the new businesses seem to complement each other nicely.

“Andover to me feels a lot like what Newbury Street used to be when I stared working there 10, 15 years ago,” said Amy Finegold, who celebrated her grand opening of dresscode at 2 Elm Square on Tuesday.

Finegold gave up the retail life and the commute to Boston to start a family. Before she left she started to notice some of the smaller boutiques leaving Newbury Street. She aid there are still plenty of stores similar to dresscode in the city, but she had no desire to set up shop in Boston.

“I don’t feel Newbury Street needs a store like mine,” she said.

But Andover is another story.

Finegold said she loves Boston shopping, but helping to create a similar atmosphere in her hometown is even better. However, she said she realized that high-end stores have always had a place in Andover and may were thriving in the community long before she and other new owners arrived. She said her store, along with other newer stores, are building on a foundation that was set long ago.

Lisa Schwarz, senior planner for the town, said she can see the trend toward a Newbury Street fee. She said it is also interesting that a lot of the new business owners are women. Schwartz said it sounds as though many of these new shop owners have done their research and know that what they are selling is wanted by those in the area. While residents used to have to drive and battle for parking to get their products, now they can get them downtown.

Schwartz said these women are also able to maintain the small business feel that Andover’s downtown has seen for decades.

“They are not your usual mom-and-pop stores. Even though they are upscale and trendy, they are small business owners,” said Schwartz.

Merit Tukianianen opened Night and Day, a lingerie store, on Park Street almost a year ago.

“People like to shop locally. I knew that there was nothing like my store. Basically between Boston and New Hampshire, this is it,” she said. “The local businesses here are very supportive. Andover is becoming a very good place to shop.”

“You’ve got some really, really, cool stores,” said Tricia Mahoney, owner of StylishShe in Andover. “You’ve got the stores in Andover. There are plenty of places to shop.”

Mahoney is a traveling business, but is responsible for the jewelry line found at dresscode.

Sisters Julie Townsend Defina and Laura Townsend run Sparkle Boston on Chestnut Street, a makeup store specializing in hard-to-find beauty products.

The sisters are from Cambridge. Defina now lives in Bradford and her sister lives in Gloucester. Defina said things are usually not as accessible in suburbia as they are in the city. The concept behind Sparkle Boston was to bring “a little bit of cosmopolitan feel to the suburbs,” Defina said.

Another cosmetic boutique just moved into Andover as well. “We fell in love with Andover. You can really spend a day shopping here,” Jane Forrer, co-owner of Beauty and Main at 2 Elm Square.

Beauty and Main also strives to bring the products found in the big city and shopping malls to the “Main Streets” of smaller communities, said Forrer.

“We were suburban moms that never got to Boston. Who had time? I never get to Newbury Street. I never have time,” she said.

So, with the new lineup of high-end retail, is there anything Andover’s downtown is really missing?

“I need more shoes. If I want a hot pink pair of strappy sandals, where do I go?” said Finegold. For now, her best bet for catching wild and ultra-trendy footwear is somewhere outside Andover, she said.