“The online shopping trend was reinforced by the mandatory shut down,” Nenni told the Journal-News. “For now, and for the foreseeable future, I believe people will prefer to shop from the comfort of their couches.”
Nenni said she and her mother, Cecelia Vogelsang Nenni, have loved being a part of the “growing and vibrant” downtown Middletown community and are humbled by the support they have received from customers and consignors.
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They said they enjoyed growing the business but “running a successful retail shop is challenging even in the best of times.”
“I think that many small businesses who operate on paper thin margins felt the same hardships that we did when our business was closed for nearly three months,” Nenni said. “It is a difficult situation to recover from.”
The business, which features vintage and ladies apparel and accessories, will still collect and sell vintage through its Etsy store at www.etsy.com/shop/GoldBeretBoutique, but "just can't afford" rent without enough sales to sustain a storefront, she said.
Monica Nenni is co-owner of downtown Middletown's West Central Wine next door at 1120 Central Ave., which she said is her primary focus. She opened the store with Melissa Kutzera in late 2016.
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“Keeping that business alive and thriving as we transition into a new normal is most important to me and I want to be able to focus all of my efforts there,” she said.
West Central Wine just started being open for weekend dine-in from 4 to 10 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations are recommended, but customers may walk in for limited availability seating at the bar. Curbside carryout also is available.
The business also recently started offering its Cruzan Rum Buckets as a to-go option starting along with already available signature food options like homemade hummus, pasta salad and meat-and-cheese boards.
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