There are some changes happening with stores in Historic Downtown.
One popular furnishing and decor store, Oh My! Consignment, will be closing its doors. The announcement comes shortly after The Herban Cowboy also closed. But a new consignment store, New Leaf Upscale Boutique, took The Herban Cowboy’s storefront.
New Leaf Upscale Boutique
The Herban Cowboy, a store that sold clothing, jewelry and essential oils, closed May 23. After it closed, the neon signs of New Leaf Upscale Boutique hit the windows.
New Leaf owner Paula Fogelman opened her store on May 30, but she already has two consigners.
“My husband and I have time shares in Daytona Beach,” Fogelman said. “He’s been trying for three years to get me to move here.”
The former Bellevue, Kentucky, resident relocated to Valrico but knew Plant City was the perfect place to open her business.
Fogelman saw similarities between the shops in Bellevue to the ones in Plant City’s historic district. She was encouraged by the number of consignment shops already in the downtown area.
“I saw it as a good thing,” Fogelman said. “The more shops in an area, the better.”
Fogelman worked to complete the store’s layout for three days straight prior to the grand opening. She currently has no employees for the boutique, but both her mother and mother-in-law are helping. Fogelman hopes, however, the store will grow to where she needs employees.
“I’m really big on shopping local businesses,” Fogelman said. “And for the money to stay in the town.”
Although she may have to wait on hiring employees, Fogelman is seeking more consigners. The store sells clothes, shoes and accessories, as well as designer labels. New Leaf Boutique currently has items from Calvin Klein, BCBG, Coach and Michael Kors, among others.
In the future, Fogelman hopes that her business will be successful enough to allow her to move to a bigger location in the downtown area.
IF YOU VISIT
Where: 114 W. Reynolds St., Plant City
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday
Phone: Paula Fogelman, (813) 812-5323
Email: newleafboutiquellc@gmail.com
Oh My! Consignment
After three years in Plant City, the owners of Oh My! Consignment on Collins Street are closing their doors.
Co-owners Susan Rafalco and Nancy Coggin have been best friends for 18 years and used to meet up in Plant City long before they opened their business.
Coggin’s husband received a job transfer, which will relocate Coggin and her family to Tennessee. Although there is no exact moving date set, the lease for the building was up at the end of the month.
“We’ll close at the end of the month,” Rafalco said. “Possibly earlier if the store gets sold out.”
Previously, Rafalco was self-employed as a furniture representative before she retired, and Coggin was a bookkeeper by trade. The decision to open Oh My! was, to them, one of the best ways to use their abilities. While Coggin took care of the bookkeeping aspect, Rafalco dealt mostly with the layout of the store.
Their dynamic has worked so well that now, as they are working on their final sales, customers are begging them to stay.
“We have a lot of people to thank,” Rafalco said, who specifically mentioned Valerie DeArmond from Valerie’s Attic. DeArmond welcomed Rafalco and Coggin to the downtown area with open arms and frequently sent customers to the store.
Now those customers are saying their final goodbyes.
After they made the decision to close Oh My!, the women wrote a letter to the consigners notifying them of the store’s closure.
“No matter what, we will take care of the people who have taken care of us,” Rafalco said. “Our faith is strong. That’s the end result for us.”
In addition to the consigners, Rafalco and Coggin also want to thank the many loyal customers who have reached out to them through personal notes and messages on Facebook.
“We’ve made a lot of friends, and we feel very blessed to have had the employees and vendors that we’ve had,” Rafalco said.
Although the store is closing, the women will continue to meet in Plant City when Coggin visits from Tennessee. Rafalco lives just a few minutes away in Tampa with her family.
“I couldn’t ask for anybody better to work with,” Rafalco said. “We’re best buds. I want her to be happy, and she wants me to be happy.”
ON THE CORNER
Another clothing store opened March 21 in Historic Downtown. Hi-Class Designs, 205 N. Collins St., sells Colombian clothing, jewelry, shoes and accessories.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday
Phone: (813) 708-8558
Email: hiclassdesigns1@gmail.com
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.