Business Beat

Leif opens Triple Crown Boutique on south side of the square

When Ellyn Leif graduated from York High School in 2008 she went on to cosmetology school. She stayed in that business for several years and then worked several different jobs before moving back to York in 2013. She then had a couple of different jobs here in York before finally deciding to act on an idea that she had been fostering for a couple of years.

The result is that Leif has opened Triple Crown Boutique at 104 East 5th Street in York. The store features a merchandise mix of casual and trendy women’s apparel along with several gift items.

“I had been trying to find something that I could be really passionate about,” said Leif. “I finally made the decision to go for it in February of this year. I contacted Lisa Hurley at the York County Development Corporation and she was a tremendous help. She got retail statistics for the area and helped me develop a business plan.”

Leif then got in touch with the Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD) which is a voluntary association of counties and municipalities formed under the Nebraska Interlocal Cooperation Act. She arranged a business loan through SENDD and she took over her location on July 1 of this year.

The months of July and August were spent remodeling the space and ordering inventory. She credits her boyfriend Ryan Hansen, her parents Matt and Lynn Leif and Hansen’s parents Bob and Gail Hansen for their tremendous help in getting the store ready.

The décor of the store features vintage ladders as racks for clothing, the original tin ceiling panels along with displays that Leif found on Craigslist and elsewhere. The store has a soft opening on Sept. 1 and things have taken off since then.

“Business so far has been better than expected,” said Leif. “In making out my business plan, you have to build in estimates of what you believe your sales will be and we’ve exceeded those figures in our first months.”

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