Emporium to buck the trend

A peek inside the shop last week

A NEW shop opening in New Norfolk next week will buck the trend of recent closures and downsizing in the town's central business district. Jim and Ally Elliott have bought the old Cooper's Hardware building at 55-59 High St and will re-open it as Ally's Emporium. The business was to have opened this Friday but it is now expected to throw open its doors on the Queen's Birthday Holiday this Monday, June 11.

Mr and Mrs Elliott and a large group of friends have spent six weeks completely renovating the old hardware store which had been on the market for about two years and was most recently home to a clearance outlet run by Miller's Fashion. The large store of about 300 square metres is now fully carpeted and a new ceiling has been installed. Wiring and cabling has been completely renewed and the premises have been painted out in no less than a dozen colours.

Ally's Emporium will have a little bit of everything, from clothing and jewelry to confectionery and furniture. There will be a mix of men's, women's and children's clothing, Mrs Elliott said it was her intention to have a constantly changing range of stock at realistic prices that would have customers coming back to browse on a regular basis. Many of the items will have an asian or african influence.

The premises will also be the office of True Blue Real Estate, with an internal office built towards the front of the store for this purpose.  The opening hours will be 9am-5pm on weekdays, 10am-4pm on Saturdays and 10am-3pm on Sundays.

Also opening is Aunt Irma's Antiquities, just around the corner at 4 Charles St where Jarod Parker, Paulis Verstappen and Aunt Irma have a range of furniture from the Georgian, Victorian and Depression eras, along with trinkets and curios, jewellery, secondhand streetware and more. See Aunt Irma's website here.

The opening of both businesses, and the relocation of True Blue Real Estate to High St, will provide a much needed boost to the business district and all involved are to be congratulated on their expression of confidence in the town.