BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Alene’s Boutiques
As “they” say: Location, location ...
There are few better spots for a business today in Boerne than being on the Hill Country Mile — especially on Main Street, right across from the Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce, and just a stone’s throw from Main Plaza.
That’s precisely where Alene’s Boutique landed, at 112 S. Main St., and Chandler Hilburn couldn’t be happier.
Hilburn, owner of Alene’s Boutique, said they made a smooth transition from their former digs on South Main Street, next to the former Dog and Pony Grill, to the new spot on The Mile.
“We were at our other location for just about a year, and honestly, we had been praying about being on Main Street,” Hilburn said.
“We waited a little bit, and then one day, we just happened to be on Facebook Marketplace and we saw that the previous store (So Vain On Main Boutique) owner was trying to find somebody to buy her out, so she could start her new venture,” she said.
Within days, the purchase was made and Alene’s Boutique was on the move.
“We bought out the previous owner and all her inventory. Everything she had here; the desk, the hangars, everything,” Hilburn said. “She was just ready for something different.”
As such, Alene’s never actually closed its South Main Street store to move merchandise and relocate. “We stayed open with her things ... and slowly started moving our stuff in for the first maybe 2-3 weeks,” Hilburn said. “We only took a few days to move things ... so honestly, we didn’t really close.”
Hilburn said they now operate with four to five times more floor space than they used at their previous location.
“(The previous store) was two stories; the top was for office and storage. The bottom floor we had to work with was very small and cramped,” she said. “We were always trying to find somewhere to put our new stuff in, it was very difficult.”
And with a new location comes new customers. Hilburn said she is enjoying the influx of new clientele.
“I like getting to meet people every day. I don’t see the same faces all the time; on the weekends, there’s a lot of out-of-town people, touristy people, which is awesome,” she added. And Hilburn enjoys seeing her regulars from the previous location come in and shop.
“They always make comments about how they can walk around and not feel so claustrophobic. They do like all the space, for sure,” she said.
Shoppers tell her they enjoy the new location “because they can do all their shopping at once, rather than driving across town, where there’s nothing else for them,” she said.
Hilburn, who moved to the area about two years ago, said she knows one of the main reasons people come to Boerne is for the Hill Country Mile, for its shopping and quaint boutiques.
“There was a lot of merchandise that down (at the previous location) was not even getting looked at, and here, it’s flying off the shelves,” she said. “Honestly, we haven’t found anything that is not interesting to somebody.”
But Hilburn is not through with the 1491 S. Main St. site — she would like to welcome you to “Alene’s Closet,” which opened June 7.
“It’s a place for our customers to take their gently worn boutique-style clothing. It’s going to be a resale boutique outlet, where we’ll take boutique-style clothing, offer them a certain price and then obviously resell it,” she said.
Alene’s Closet will be open Thursday through Sunday at the former store — behind True Country BBQ, which now occupies the space where the Dog and Pony Grill used to be.
“But I think everybody who opens a small business in Boerne, their long-term goal is to be on Main Street and the Hill Country Mile and that was our main goal as well,” she said.
“Since being here, I think it’s gone above our expectations, most definitely.”
Shoppers weave through the merchandise display racks in Alene’s Boutique, which has settled into its new location at 112 S. Main St.
Star photos by Jeff B. Flinn
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