At 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 29, 2017, we officially closed the doors to our Collierville store. At 3:59 p.m., the place looked like the above picture – still open for business. By 5:00 p.m., it looked like the ghost of Eclectic Eye. It’s hard to know how to think about it, even now, only a few weeks later.
At 4:01 p.m., our Midtown crew closed shop early, drove to Collierville and, with Prosecco in hands, surprised our doctor, Chalise Maybee and our retail manager, Nicki. This happy moment lightened the emptiness that came with our last moments in our beautiful Collierville store.
Chalise’s fiancé made an entrance to surprise his soon-to-be-wife on the last day.
We had visits from many old teammates and customers to add to the surprise. It was truly a joy to see so many fans of our Collierville store stop by for a spontaneous gathering.
There were lots of hugs – and plenty of laughs.
Mike and I rejoice in everyone that has made our store in Collierville a success. None of it would have been possible without these folks taking a chance and working for a mom-and-pop business.
We are always most proud of the people that work alongside us and the belief they have in us. We are forever grateful for their faith in us. We’ve learned together, laughed together, cried together, fought together and grown together. I can’t think of finer people to have been in the process with us.
Saying goodbye is definitely bittersweet. We learned a lot by opening and operating an offshoot of our main, Midtown Memphis passion. For those that took the ride with us, thank you.
It’s not entirely goodbye, though. Don’t forget to visit us at our Midtown store!
