ATHENS — Thirty years is a great milestone in the retail business. Let’s face it, businesses still announced their grand openings in the – what? – an old yellowed newspaper!
Today Athens’ Crawford’s Gifts is halfway through a yearlong pearl anniversary celebration – a gem of 30 years in business on the south side of Athens’ historic downtown square – live and on social media.
Always on trend with an extremely broad selection of gifts and décor, Crawford’s Gifts is offering a weekly lagniappe of customer deals, in addition to the discounts of up to 20% customers earn collecting pineapples with their Loyalty Club card.
Regina Crawford had spent a decade decorating homes and business offices before opening the store that specializes in unique gifts, boutique clothing, custom handbags, artisan jewelry and home décor including oil paintings, wind chimes, rugs, and knick-knacks.
“It is not like I had always wanted to own a store,” Crawford said. “I had been decorating for quite some time and I needed a bigger space than a storage unit. I was considering a warehouse but when the opportunity came up for me to open a home décor and gift store in the downtown square, I took it.”
In addition to the brick-and-mortar store, the online store – Crawford’s Boutique – carries unique clothing including formal wear, outerwear, swimsuits, shoes and accessories for women, children and infants.
Crawford’s Gifts joined the Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce for a Chamber Coffee event to offset the ribbon-cutting 30 years ago.
Crawford credits Athens Main Street, the store Loyalty program, and the customer service for bringing business back quickly after the pandemic. She said that sparked a 40% increase in foot traffic and sales over pre-pandemic levels.
