When Retail Supports Retail (And Why It Matters)

Growing up, retail looked… different. The city where I’m from had one gift shop - my mom's where I worked - and that was pretty much it. When new stores opened in neighboring towns, it felt like a threat, not community growth. Retail was territorial because choices were limited.

Fast-forward to today, and everything has changed. Now, we’re not competing with the shop down the street - we’re competing with the entire internet, available 24/7, two-day shipped, algorithmically recommended, and priced to the penny.

Personally, I have come to find that the real truth is this: the more in-person shopping a city has, the stronger every shop there becomes.

If people have multiple local places to browse, touch, sniff, try on, and enjoy, then shopping locally becomes part of their routine again - not just a seasonal activity or an afterthought.

As a Smyrna resident myself, I WANT that for this quirky city that somehow had so little retail for the past decade.

Since opening Jonquies, I’ve heard it all many times:

• “There used to be a shop like this before you moved here!”

• “We owned a boutique over by ____, but we closed it years ago.”

• “I’ve been hoping something like this would come back to Smyrna.”

• “I hope you can stay.” (We have a five year lease so this always makes me smile.)

The city has transformed so much in the ten years I’ve lived here. The neighborhoods grew, the restaurants grew, the parks grew - and finally, retail is finding its moment too. As Mariah Carey famously says… it’s tiiiime.

And I don’t just mean Christmas.
Supporting small businesses is a year-round act not a holiday sprint.

So whether it's a brick-and-mortar shop, a booth at any of our amazing markets, a local artist doing pop-ups, or an online shop run out of someone’s living room - we’re rooting for all of them. Truly. Retail supporting retail isn’t just good manners - it is our survival. It is community. It is how cities build character.

If Smyrna keeps saying yes to its small businesses, we’ll all grow together.
And we’ll be here cheering on every new neighbor who swings open their door for the first time.

— Jonquies