When Elizabeth Wray went to check out the Third Street space that would become her new floral design studio and store, she realized it was the exact spot where she had worked as a teenager decades ago.
Wray had worked at The Meeting Place, one of the former Merra-Lee shops at Third and State streets in Geneva. The row of longtime clothing stores closed three years ago, and the prominent and highly visible retail space has been vacant since.
State Street Jewelers moved into the corner spot last year. Now, Wray, of Elizabeth Wray Design, and Kathy Lager, of Veiled in Elegance, are making over the corner into a bridal destination.
“We have definitely been singing ‘movin’ on up,'” Wray joked of their move from 15 W. State St. to the new Third Street location. “This is a new plateau, a new level for us. It’s given us an entirely new vista.”
Lager, whose Veiled in Elegance bridal store was also previously on State Street, said that she had been considering a renovation of her previous space, and had already purchased the paint, when real estate agents contacted her about the Merra-Lee space owned by Mike Simon, who owns other prominent Third Street locations, including The Little Traveler.
“It’s all about location, location, location — the visibility and energy on Third Street,” Lager said. After 20 years, “we’re ready to be more open and visible.”
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Simon said that the former Merra-Lee shops could have been leased to new businesses within six months, but that he has been highly selective about what should replace the previous Geneva icons, the first of which was opened by his father 82 years before its closing. He said that unless he feels “there is somebody that has a unique idea that is going to add something to Third Street,” he passes.
Simon has known Wray since high school and is acquainted with Lager through years of referring customers to each other’s stores. One of the Merra-Lee shops specialized in mother-of-the-bride dresses.
“They are both special people with really cool concepts,” he said.
Because of that Third Street location, Wray had to add a retail component. She said she is excited about adding retail to the front of the studio by March. She will feature local artisans with an eco-friendly bent.
“We will have upcycled products,” she said. “We intend to present products that are festive and exciting and desirable.”
Customers also will be able to see floral designers at work in the back of the space. The ceiling has been opened to expose the beams, and the 100-year-old concrete floors have been polished, she said.
Lager and Wray have been part of the success of Geneva Bride, a consortium formed seven years ago by various wedding-related professionals in Geneva. Both businesses have been a large part of the Geneva Wedding Walk, an annual event.
The idea behind Geneva Bride and the Walk is that even though some of the businesses may be in competition, creating a buzz about Geneva as a destination for all things wedding helps all the businesses, Wray said.
Now, many visitors think of Geneva as a wedding town, she said.
There are a few storefronts available in the former Merra-Lee location. Simon said he wants new tenants “to give someone a reason to come downtown.”
The new businesses don’t necessarily have to be wedding-related, he said, but if they were, it “would certainly be fortuitous.”