RICHMOND, Va. — Just in time for the gift-giving season, a new gift shop and retailer about a year in the making is opening its doors in Church Hill.
Dear Neighbor is up and running at 2415 Jefferson Ave., in a renovated garage behind Sub Rosa Bakery that previously housed Sub Rosa’s bread milling operation and the original location of Ardent Craft Ales.
Husband-and-wife team Evan Cotter and Kristy Santelli Cotter are the owners of Dear Neighbor, which Kristy describes as a mix of Carytown retailers Mongrel and Need Supply Co.
“We really want to focus on bringing back the art of gift-giving and quality handmade goods that have a focus on brand and design,” Kristy said, listing local and international inventory that includes leather goods from Holland and ceramics from Israel and Brooklyn, New York.
“It’s really bringing all this awesomeness to Church Hill and to the neighborhood that we love so much. People love Church Hill for the restaurants and the parks and the community, and we really wanted to open a space that would add to that.”
The couple purchased the 500-square-foot garage and adjacent duplex on North 25th Street a year ago for $177,500, according to city records. Since then, they’ve been going through the process of getting the property rezoned and obtaining a necessary special-use permit – a process that Kristy said was unnecessarily drawn out.
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