Promenade Shops’ new retailer to feature unique fashions … – 69News WFMZ-TV

UPPER SAUCON TWP., Pa. – Fashionistas looking for unique clothing, shoes and accessories will soon have a new store to frequent at The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley.

Sweet Diehl Boutique, offering “flattering, comfortable and affordable on-trend pieces,” is set to open 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at the open-air shopping center, 2845 Center Valley Parkway, Upper Saucon Township.

The women’s fashion boutique, owned and operated by Andrea Diehl of Alburtis, is the first business to occupy The Promenade Shops’ new dedicated pop-up space, Promenade Pop-Up Shop, next to Carter’s.

“I’m super, over-the-moon excited,” Diehl said. “I’ve been getting a lot of attention from people who are coming in and asking me when I’m opening. They are getting me excited because they are excited.”

Shoppers will be able to browse a wide array of women’s apparel, including dresses, jeans, and tops, in sizes small to 3X.

“I am size-inclusive,” Diehl said. “I like to serve everybody – curvy girls, petite girls, everybody.”

Diehl started Sweet Diehl Boutique as an online-based business in late 2019.

She originally conducted operations from her home’s basement, but rapid business growth during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led her to move operations to a brick-and-mortar spot offering warehouse and retail space in Topton, Berks County, later that year.

Diehl recently closed the Topton location in preparation for the business’ move to The Promenade Shops.

“With COVID, business pretty much exploded,” Diehl said. “I originally thought to myself, ‘Who’s going to buy clothes now?’ Nobody was going anywhere because we were all stuck at home. However, it was the complete opposite. It was very successful.”

Sweet Diehl Boutique, which continues to sell items online and through the business’ free mobile app, carries unique clothing, shoes, and accessories –including hats, handbags, and jewelry – from smaller, independent brands not found at major retail chains, Diehl said.

Customers will find shirts, dresses, and other pieces featuring unique prints and comfortable fabrics.

“We have a lot of colorful prints, and a lot of our fabrics don’t wrinkle,” Diehl said. “They’re easy to wear and you can travel with them with no need to iron them later.”

Many pieces are versatile, allowing individuals to wear them for casual, everyday tasks or dress them up with accessories for formal occasions.

“With a lot of the dresses, you can wear high heels with them and you’re good to go to a wedding,” Diehl said. “But you could also wear them with flip-flops and go grocery shopping.”

Diehl enjoys getting to know customers, and her goal is for them to feel at home when visiting her boutique. To that end, the shop will feature a “donut bar,” offering complimentary doughnuts, coffee, and other light refreshments.

“My vision for my business has always been that I don’t want it to feel like a store, even though it is a store,” Diehl said. “To me, it’s more about the relationships – getting to know people and ultimately becoming friends.”

Sweet Diehl Boutique is set to operate through Sept. 30 in the Promenade Pop-Up Shop space. If the experience goes well, Diehl said it is likely that she will open a permanent boutique in another space at the shopping center.

The 1,500-square-foot Promenade Pop Up Shop space will give local entrepreneurs an opportunity to expand their reach while also introducing the community to a growing roster of new businesses, the shopping center announced earlier this month.

“The Promenade Pop Up Shop is a new venture for the center that will provide a dedicated space for local retailers, some of which were born online, to try out a short-term brick-and-mortar lease,” Natalia Stezenko, senior general manager of the shopping center, said in a news release.

Thanks to the new Pop Up Shop, Promenade Shops visitors will enjoy an ever-changing lineup of “exclusive retail brands and eclectic merchandise offered alongside traditional favorites,” according to the release.

Also, local retailers will find the Pop Up Shop to be a “low-cost, low-risk way to test the waters” in a brick-and-mortar location while simultaneously expanding their brand awareness.

The new Pop Up Shop is fully furnished with fixtures, mannequins, and a cash wrap making the pop-up process easy for those selling from a brick-and-mortar space for the first time.

Those interested in launching a pop-up retail location at The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley can visit thepromenadeshopsatsauconvalley.com/promenadepopup or e-mail Bil Ingraham at BIngraham@CentennialREC.com for more information.

The Promenade Pop Up Shop is more welcome news for the shopping center, which has filled several vacant storefronts this year.

New additions include FD Market, a sustainable goods shop and zero-waste refillery; Handmade Mystic – Healing Crystals & Jewelry, selling healing crystals, hand-crafted jewelry and more; Batch Microcreamery, offering super premium, hand-crafted ice cream and other chilled treats such as floats, milkshakes and sundaes; and Love Obsessed, a trendy boutique offering women’s clothing, jewelry, accessories and unique gift items.

Additionally, The Promenade Shops is set to welcome another tenant near the end of the year.

Turning Point, an award-winning breakfast, lunch and brunch restaurant chain with more than 20 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2023 at the Upper Saucon shopping center.

The 4,449-square-foot restaurant will be located near UBreakIFix and Playa Bowls at the open-air center.

The Promenade Shops, which debuted in 2006 with more than 70 tenants, now has around 15 vacant storefronts.

Businesses that have recently left the shopping center include All Weather Selvedge Denim Co. and Evolve Salon & Spa, while other new additions include ELITE Salons & Suites and Squishable.