Apricot Lane moving to Brecksville

by Martin McConnell

When the lease on Apricot Lane’s Strongsville location inside SouthPark Mall was up at the end

of January, owner Sherry Mazzola knew it was time to go.

An Independence resident, she wanted to move her small business closer to home.

The new location, 8918 Brecksville Rd., brings Mazzola back to the heart of her daily life, she says, describing her new storefront as more of a small family business. She hopes to add unique offerings that shoppers would not find at any other Apricot Lane.

“We’ll have the ‘coming soon’ sign up next week,” Mazzola said Feb. 5. “The team at the Brecksville location, really it’s just going to be my family, and some of my original people to fill in. But it’s a family affair.”

While Mazzola and the Apricot Lane staff enjoyed their time at the mall, they are excited to be a part

of Brecksville’s booming business scene. They thought there was no time like the present, and that the location was just right.

“A decision had to be made,” Mazzola said of the mall lease. “I had kind of been so excited about all the things happening in Brecksville. That whole area, Brecksville, Independence and the surrounding communities, that’s kind of where I live life.”

Mazzola believes that investing in the community is key, and Brecksville, she says, has done just that with its business developments in recent years. She believes Apricot Lane will fit right in, as downtown Brecksville is sorely lacking a women’s boutique store.

“I just thought, ‘I don’t know whether the community will support a women’s boutique,’” she said.

“I’m hoping the community will support it. I’m optimistically, you know, excited. We’re cautiously optimistic.”

Mazzola said that the opportunity for her boutique to join Brecksville’s downtown scene is really why she opened a small business in the first place. She wants to be a part of the community, first and foremost.

“I’m a very social person; I like to talk to people, I love people,” she said. “Building those relationships, having those relationships, and you’re supporting your local community, it’s very important to me.”

Apricot Lane carries vendors from all across the country, and each store is different. Mazzola said that while the Apricot Lane name brand is a franchise, the owners are very hands-off. This allows for each franchisee to shift the store’s stock in any way they see fit.

It was, however, bittersweet for the store to leave the mall, Mazzola said. While she and the Apricot Lane staff made plenty of friends and memories at the SouthPark location, moving to Brecksville actually brought the store full circle.

“It’s in the Masonic temple building,” she said. “What’s so funny is, we actually looked at that place years ago, to put the store there.”

Despite the mixed emotions, Mazzola feels she made the right choice. She hopes that the store will receive the same support as it did at its previous location. “Being in the area where all of my friends and family, and my church, and everything is there,” she said. “It just feels so right.”