Missing your favorite shops, restaurants and performance venues? Us too! In this stay-at-home series, we ask local entrepreneurs and creatives about the Star City spots they can't wait to rediscover once they're out and about. Here, we talk to bridal-shop owner, Instagrammer and newlywed Alyce Haynes Carlin.
This time of year, The Newfangled Bride in Salem would normally be bustling with brides-to-be trying on frothy white gowns, seniors scanning the racks for the perfect glittery prom dress and proud moms snapping photographs.
Courtesy of Alyce Haynes Carlin
Alyce Haynes Carlin
This year, though, the shop remains empty of customers – except when someone pulls up for a curbside wedding-gown pickup.
“Our prom season basically just stopped [when] we were probably about a third of the way through. Bridal gowns – obviously – hard stop,” says owner Alyce Haynes Carlin, who runs the shop with her mother and sister, and who also owns Flower Shoppe on Main. “But I’ve started communicating with a couple of different venues about doing a summer prom if things open back up again, to maybe give the kids a chance to have that experience… That’s the goal.”
That’s just one creative idea from Alyce, an intentional optimist who’s been upping the shop’s social-media game and posting dresses for sale on Poshmark, an online fashion resale hub.
“I really do think this is changing what business looks like for local businesses moving forward, and it’s not in a bad way – as long as we can all hunker down and weather the storm,” says the Glenvar High grad. “I think once we get through this we’re going to have a skill set that local businesses haven’t had before. So I’m pretty stoked about that.”
Here, we chatted with this upbeat entrepreneur about the local spots she can’t wait to revisit – and the local folks who are keeping her sane.
Right about now, we're all dreaming of returning to our favorite restaurants, coffee shops and watering holes. What's one or two you'll visit first?
AHC: With my sister and her boyfriend, we started going to Olde Salem Brewing once a week … The atmosphere at Olde Salem is so fun, and it’s perfect for after work – very low key, right by the shop … We’d grab a beer, and we’d have local takeout delivered. We’d hit up Macado’s a lot, Mac and Bob’s, Frank’s Pizza… That’s what my sister and I are both the most excited to get back to.
How about events and arts spaces?
AHC: This is actually an easy one: the Grandin Theatre! Because I live right there, we can walk down, and even if we’re not going into the movie theatre, we love the ambiance, the popcorn and the lights.
Are there any local shops or take-out spots you're actively supporting while you're at home?
AHC: When we need things, [the] kneejerk reaction is to order from Amazon, but we’ve been trying to take a step back and say, okay, is there a [local] spot that’s open that we can get this from right now? For instance, [husband] Ben’s sunglasses loosened up and kept sliding down his nose… We got onto Fleet Feet’s website and were able to order the Goodrs he wanted. We pulled up, and they brought it right out to the car. Super cool!
What's one thing happening in the community that encourages you right now?
AHC: The silver lining of this whole situation is … it’s forced local businesses to compete a little more online. When the only way you can communicate with your customers is through social media platforms, your website … a lot more attention is going into that, and it’s highlighting these businesses and small boutiques extremely well. I’m seeing way more content from them, and it’s made me want to buy clothes from them. One in particular is Urban Gypsy in Grandin. They’ve been doing a phenomenal job, and I’ve bookmarked so many things. I can’t go and spend the money I want to spend right now, but they will 100% get more of my business moving forward.
Do you have a local Quarantine Hero -- someone who's made you smile or kept you sane?
AHC: Gabriel [Villarreal] from Lost Boys – he’s a coach for weightlifting. I was weightlifting with him prior to this, and before gyms shut down, he had weights for everybody to come take home. He took notes of whatever everybody took, and then he built training programs around what weights we had available to us. He’s hopping on Zoom calls every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to keep us motivated, keep us pepped, let us vent … I don’t even think he realizes how good he’s been for everybody.
Any new hobbies or routines you’ve started in this season, especially as you adjust to newlywed life?
AHC: It’s been fun. We’ve set up cornhole in the house, in the kitchen to the dining room. We pretend we’re at a brewery, play cornhole and pour our local beers. We’re just like, ‘Gosh these people are loud around this brewery tonight!’
Want to find out more about The Newfangled Bride? You can follow the shop on Facebook or Instagram, check out the website for The Flower Shoppe on Main, or browse Alyce’s Poshmark sales.
About the Writer:
Ashley Wilson Fellers is a writer, educator, self-taught painter and contemplative photographer in Roanoke, Virginia. When she isn’t teaching writing at Virginia Western, she snaps photos of sidewalk cracks, rescues wet leaves from windshield wipers and leaves poems hidden under park benches. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Tech.