From Here to Maternity!

It's official! We've moved out of our location at 1644 MLK Jr Way and are all moved in to 1385 Shattuck Avenue... But the place is a mess! And so it will be a couple of weeks before we are able to reopen. Stay tuned for the exact re-opening date... Meanwhile, some of our customers have been asking "Why are you moving?" or "Is it a bigger space?" And the short answer is, "Yes and that's why!" For months previous to our even thinking about expanding or moving, we had been turning lots of folks away... either because we didn't have what they wanted to buy, or the room to take what they wanted to sell, ie kids' gear and a larger selection
of maternity.

So in our new shop, that's what you will find, more strollers, pack 'n' plays, etc. as well as an even bigger and better selection of maternity wear for all sizes! And, the best part? We now have, not one, but two dressing rooms! We know there will be some folks who will be disappointed to learn that we will no longer be accepting size 10 for kids. :( I know, I know, as I have a 10 year old myself, this is hugely disappointing! But we really need to make more room for the things that sell, that are in demand, and phase out the things that don't and aren't.

Nevertheless, we hope you all will be pleased! It is a bigger and much brighter store... and some of our trademarks will still be present: our play area, our tree and our windows! We've gotten so many compliments on our window displays over the years that we know we must keep up that tradition! 1385 Shattuck is almost ALL windows on on two sides of the store, so we are trying to figure out how to maintain that part of our shop without compromising space and keeping it safe in the environment, particularly for our littlest shoppers. So, sit tight! It won't be long now... just a couple of more weeks, til you will see those pictures of our windows on our (also new, and updated!) website, and Facebook page! Thanks, as always for your continued support!

Thank You!

Thank you. Thank you. What else can we say? We are so grateful for everyone's continued support.

GROVE STREET kids on the Alist.

We're Movin' On Up... to the (North) East Side!

Some of you may remember, around this time last year, we had contemplated expanding into the empty space next door to us... Well, by now, you know that we did not. It was a long process: trying to come to terms with the landlords, secure the financing, and finding the help to do the work. After several months of negotiations, we just couldn't make all the ducks line up in a row.

But, I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason...

And, sho'nuff, an opportunity to expand has presented itself and we will be moving our location in July.

For months, I had been watching listings for commercial properties on line, waiting ever so patiently for the perfect spot to open up. At Christmas time, like a gift, "it" appeared on the site. With more than 6 months to go on my current lease, I had hopes that it would be available for a while, as most properties had (and have) been... So I put it on my "Watch List."

I was not optimistic that it would last, as it was too perfect. It was the right size space for the right price, and of course the ever-desirable... location, location, location. Our current locale has not been a bad one, for being in a residential area. And we provide a "service" as well as being retail, so the bulk of our business comes from being sought out on the internet. That said, if we were in a busier location, with more foot traffic, we would be busier. And more business is good! So, in February and unable to contain myself, I called Norheim & Yost to inquire about the space.

"Is it still available?"

"Yes, it is."

And like that the ball was rolling...

So here it is, April 1st, and I have just signed the lease for "1385 Shattuck Avenue, Suite A." This is not a joke! We will be moving the shop over the course of the next few months, as the moving and setting up of the new store will take place on evenings and weekends, outside of our current store hours! There will probably be a week or two between closing this shop and the opening of the new location. Our plan is to reopen on or within a few days of our 5 Year Anniversary of business, July 18.

As the word spreads, some customers have asked "Will you change the name? And the answer is "no." We feel we've established our "brand" well-enough and, our current location is on Martin Luther King Jr. Way anyway, so there's no need!

We're thrilled and excited about this opportunity, and we hope you are too! Stay tuned for more info, and if you haven't already, "Like" us on Facebook for the most up-to-date news on our progress in the move!

It's Madness in March!

Well, no, we aren't writing to you to let you know about basketball! We're writing because, well, it's March! How quickly did that come about? (Thankfully, we had an extra day in February just to be reminded!)

But Grove Street kids is going a little mad this March... and we plan on having a little "tournament" of our own. On, Tuesdays this month, we are going to have a different promotion each week.

Here's the schedule:

Tuesday, March 6th: The Berkeley weather really hasn't made up its mind yet, is it Winter or is it Spring? Just in case you hadn't heard, Punxsutawney Phil has determined that there will not be an early Spring this year... so all Outerwear is 40% off!

Tuesday, March 13th: With St. Paddy's Day right around the corner, it's time to stock up on all items Green! It also happens to be our favorite color, so we have a lot! Take 40% off any piece of clothing that happens to be the lucky color!

Tuesday, March 20th: It's the first day of Spring! And to celebrate all Spring clothing is on sale! Shorts, short sleeve tops and shirts, and sleeveless dresses... all 40% off!

Tuesday, March 27th: The last Tuesday of the month will be all about clearing out our closets! All previously reduced merchandise is an additional 15% off!


All sales merchandise are considered final sale BUT may be combined with store credit.

Vote For Us!

It's that time of year again!

It doesn't feel like it's been that long since we were nominated for Best Children's Clothing Store on SFGate.com. We were honored and humbled by the win, and are ever-grateful for the support of our fans and customers.

But, lo and behold, here we are again... and at the risk of sounding self-aggrandizing,we are posting the link here, in the hopes that the relatively few of you out there that read our blog, will take a few moments to go the link and vote for us. (You have to register with the Baylist to vote, but it's quick and easy and you won't get spam - just don't forget to verify your email or it won't count....)

So, thanks in advance, for your support (and partonage!) of GROVE STREET kids.

Punxsutawney Phil, is he right?

With ski week fast approaching, GROVE STREET kids has been steadfastly collecting ski pants, bibs and jackets, not to mention all the necessary paraphernalia that parents feel kids need for a weeklong snow-trip: gloves, scarves.... long underwear.

As I sit here writing this, however the sky is clear and the temperature is mild, and there is no precipitation in the forecast for the next 7 days! So, what season is this, anyway?

Normally, I am a huge fan of this weather. In fact, I am not a fan of rain, and could happily live in a place where the average precipitation is less than a couple of inches a year - like San Diego, for example. But, I am a fan of snow! And I love to ski, as does my daughter, and without rain, there is no snow! Not the natural kind, anyway. And with no snow, there is no skiing, and no need for said ski pants, bibs and jackets...

Who knew our sales would be so greatly affected by the weather?

Last year's record-breaking snowfall also had it's affect on our inventory last year. I couldn't get the snowbibs in fast enough! Big ones, little ones, boots, gloves and scarves... literally flew out the door. This year, not so much. The difference between this winter and last is like night and day!

But we're still hoping beyond hope... for rain and, therefore, snow! And if you are hoping we still have 6 weeks of winter ahead of us as well, come and get your ski gear on! We got plenty!

Help Us Help You!

Once a month, I meet with a group called Business and Balance which is, mainly, a network for professional women entrepreneurs to exchange resources, strategies, and practical business support. The group is also committed to sharing effective tools for finding and maintaining balance in life while running a successful business.

I have found this group to be particularly useful toward that end - finding balance in my life - there are some really wonderful women in this group who run some amazing businesses - everything from Bookkeeping Services to Feng Shui Energy Consultation. I've attended most of the meetings even when I didn't feel that the topic or presentation to be discussed particularly pertained to me or GROVE STREET kids, as I am fond of the socializing part of the evening... but come last month I was unusually tired and not feeling 100%, so I thought I would skip it...

But the tagline to the email introducing the subject of the next meeting read:

"Love/Hate... Groupon? Everybody loves a deal. Except perhaps the retailer who can't afford to just give it away."

"That's me!" I thought to myself and that was as far as I read, as I already knew that this was a meeting not to be missed.

For a few weeks prior, I had received multiple emails from Groupon-like promotions - many of them locally-owned and even "mom-run." As a small-business owner I am inundated with "new and exciting" marketing strategies to extend our reach to potential customers on a weekly if not, daily, basis. So I was excited to go to a presentation that might have some suggestions and/or resources for marketing GROVE STREET kids that could be lest costly, if not down right free.

As it turned it out, it was a presentation by a gentleman starting a new marketing business venture, very similar in concept to Foursquare, which is a location-based social networking website for mobile devices, aka "smartphones." Users "check-in" at venues using a mobile website, text messaging or a device-specific application by selecting from a list of venues the application locates nearby. Each check-in awards the user points and sometimes "badges." Businesses, such as GROVE STREET kids, sometimes offer "Check-In Specials." Ours is that you will receive an additional punch in your Frequent Buyer Card just for checking in.

At any rate, the evening did not turn out to be what I was hoping for, but that was my own fault for not reading the entire email... What it did do was give me pause to think about what exactly I was looking for in terms of promoting my business, that I can advertise for free and does that even exist? Well, certainly on Foursquare it does, but even with 10 million registered users only 10% of those who attended the meeting had even heard of it...

So in the course of figuring this out what I came up with was a way to work with and give back to our community, that will benefit both GSK and it's customers, other than just spending money in our store. It's not a particularly novel idea, but so brilliant in its simplicity that I wish I had done it years ago. We've decided to start a "Giving Back to Schools" campaign for our local preschool and elementary schools. This goes one, if not several, steps beyond the traditional donating of gift certificates to school auctions (which we will continue to do as well), and is about creating relationships within our community that support both the local economy and our children's education.

It's a win-win.

The idea is simple. Schools who register for the program, promote GROVE STREET kids in their community as the place to shop for their kids clothing and shoes. The parents who shop with us let us know that their kids go to "x" school, and we automatically donate a percentage of their purchase back to said school, building a mutually beneficial relationship. It's down right... elementary!