New Boutique Offers Unique Options in Downtown
By Christopher Miller
Recently announcing a grand opening date of Friday, November 13, Momoyo Otsu: a fashion boutique, clothing, handbag, and accessories store will shortly be welcoming the masses to its downtown Lock Haven storefront.
Hanna and Jordan Stover of South Avis are the brainchilds behind this gorgeous addition to the downtown area in recent months. Located in the formerly occupied Nittany Travel building at 147 East Main Street, Momoyo Otsu is a unique sort of shopping experience with a very catchy name that rolls right off the tongue.
“It (Momoyo) means Peach,” Hanna explained in an interview recently with The Record. “It was my grandmother’s name, she immigrated to this area from Japan in the 1950s/60s when she met my grandfather.” As the name of the store will forever memorialize Hanna’s grandmother, she wanted meaning behind the name of the business. “She had a big heart, and was an amazing person – I wanted to bring out that feeling of love in the store, like the love she had for me and our family,” Hanna explained.
Those who worked at the Woolrich Woolen Mill would most likely remember “Peachy” as she liked to be called: she worked there as a seamstress. Although she had not quite learned full English, she was very well-loved and enjoyed nonetheless.
While Peachy was the name of a woman with a beautiful soul and aura around her, the interior of the building was certainly less than so. “The travel agency was here for decades – nearly 40 years – and set up to be a travel agency…as it worked for them, it needed significant interior work for the structure to become something that we could use,” Hanna explained. “Renovations started spawning other projects like light switches and the removal of over 30 phone lines above the drop ceiling!” While most locals will remember Nittany Travel as the former tenant, some of our more seasoned residents may remember when the building was a local music store by the name of Big Red Note, and a former drug store.
Underneath the walls and ceilings held fantastic architecture and great bones – an homage to the days gone by of the old downtown “department store” businesses. “All of the lights were operated on a breaker box,” exclaimed Hanna. “We needed light switches, it was an electrical nightmare but we had the best electrician here to sort it all out – Chad Felmlee of Mountain Creek Electric.”
A quick examination of the Momoyo Otsu Facebook page will also reveal the painstaking restoration work that Jordan, Hanna and family dealt with in preserving and preparing the original tin ceiling for paint. It was reported that some of the interior architecture matches some pieces from around the downtown that have withstood the test of time.
As renovation and restoration work wraps up, the fun is just beginning for Hanna as she begins to purchase and acquire inventory for the now enlarged store.
“It is a fashion boutique and I have been selling these items online for a while now – we will have clothing, handbags, fashion jewelry, scarves and accessories…really a bit of everything,” Hanna explained. “We love everybody, we are open to everybody and happy to help anyone…at our store, everyone is welcome: men, women, we will help you find the most absolute perfect gift.”
“At Momoyo Otsu we will listen to our customers and show them honesty and honest advice,” Hanna stated. “We want everyone to feel like family and friends.”
With recent news reports coming out of the downtown and the city area it seems as if the area is about to enter a renaissance of sorts. When asked about it, Hanna was very excited to explain her observations about the local business community.
“I fully believe that Lock Haven is coming of age into a renaissance, she said. “The downtown area has the biggest sense of passion and the want for change and modernization, I believe it will become what it used to be.”
Along with a renaissance on the horizon, Hanna and others also believe that there is a need for fresh ideas and the youth of the area to step up and become small business owners. “Downtown Lock Haven once had many women’s stores, men’s stores, jewelry stores, furniture stores, bakeries – it is all about people following their dreams and bringing back what used to be,” Hanna explained. “Lots of other businesses are supportive as well, giving me advice and tips…I am so thankful for Tom Keiffer at the Small Business Development Center for his help with this monumental project!”
One of the best features of the downtown location is the large corner windows for showcasing merchandise. Well, Hanna informed The Record that there are big plans for the windows especially at Christmas time where they have already purchased a large vintage pink Christmas Tree, but the rest of the plans have been very hush-hush.
Both Hanna and Jordan are extremely excited to see everybody, and for everybody to finally be able to enter the building and see their labor of love complete.
“I cannot wait for our new adventure to begin…we have an awesome community and amazing people, and as we will be taking all COVID-19 precautions, it just makes this a more unique time to be a business owner,” Hanna said.
Momoyo Otsu will be offering clothing in sizes Small – 3X but wants the public to know that they will do everything they can to make sure that you feel amazing and beautiful in their merchandise, no matter what.
Momoyo Otsu
147 East Main Street
Lock Haven
www.MomoyoOtsu.com
Facebook: Momoyo Otsu Group (for special product showings, incentives, giveaways)
Instagram: @MomoyoOtsu
App: Currently in development and will be available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store
