New boutique to be one-stop shop for women's fashion in Flowery Branch

Feb. 21—Where most see a street under construction, the owners of The Social Peach Boutique in Flowery Branch see an opportunity to help build and be a part of a business community.

Caylen Foster and Katie Gettys, co-owners of the boutique and West Hall High School graduates, never went to downtown's Main Street when they were in high school. The lack of variety in places to eat, shop and socialize didn't attract their attention back then.

The Social Peach Boutique

Grand opening: March 4

Where: 5519 Main St., Suite 103, Flowery Branch

Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday

More info: thesocialpeachboutique.com

But these days, both women are invested in the viability of Main Street.

"I just think Flowery Branch has changed through the years and we wanted to be a part of it," said Gettys, 25. "I believe this is about creating a community."

"We want to change people's mindset that when they want to go shopping at a boutique, they have to go to Buford or Gainesville. They can come here," Foster, 27, said as she straightened items on a table in preparation for the store's grand opening.

Peaches and patience

Both Gettys and Foster have been busy prepping the store for the grand opening on Saturday, March 4.

Once open, the boutique will be the only retail destination of its kind on Main Street. With restaurants, coffee shops and areas where people can sit and relax all either under construction or already open, the corridor was ripe for a shopping destination, according to Foster.

"The city (of Flowery Branch) has a really good vision for this area," Foster said.

Next door to the boutique is restaurant space that has yet to be leased and another restaurant that is expected to lease that space. Above the boutique are 14 apartment units. The area around the boutique is growing, and Foster and Gettys remain positive that they will have neighbors sooner or later.

"Hopefully all of the other businesses will be open soon, too," Gettys said. "This will truly become an eat, drink and shop community when they do. As each business opens, the picture will get clearer."

Foster agreed that the more businesses on Main Street, the better.

"I'm all for it and, hopefully, there will be even more to come, because the more people we can have come to Main Street ... the more the downtown will grow."

Dreams realized

Both Foster and Gettys said that they always wanted to own a business while also remaining in their hometown if the opportunity ever presented itself. Interested in fashion and accessorizing, owning a boutique downtown was a dream come true.

"I always wanted to have a boutique and this just felt right," Foster said.

"We know the community, we know the market and we know there was a need for a boutique, so why not do it ourselves?" Gettys said.

With an HVAC expert fixing the store's air conditioning unit one afternoon, his ladder in the middle of the sales floor, Gettys added, "It may not look like much now, but we believe in this vision."

"It's coming together slowly but surely," Foster said, motioning towards the ladder. "We have to pass these last few hurdles."

What's in store

The girls that didn't have a place to shop downtown while they were teenagers decided to take matters into their own hands. The goal, according to Gettys, is to have something for all shoppers.

"It's going to be a one-stop shop," she said.

The Social Peach Boutique not only sells women's clothes, including dresses, jeans, blouses, T-shirts and jackets, but also items a customer might not be downtown to specifically purchase: self-care gift packages with soaps and exfoliating facial scrubs, picture frames, coffee mugs with positive slogans, like, "Tell it to Jesus," and locally-sourced merchandise.

Customers that don't make it downtown can still shop at the boutique via its website, thesocialpeachboutique.com.

When asked what they see as the ultimate goal for the business, Gettys said, "To serve and grow the community for many years to come."

Foster added: "To help bring more people downtown and grow the awareness of this community."

And to have a place in downtown Flowery Branch to shop, of course.