For over a decade, Frankie and Julian's has been run by Suzanne Bishop West on Frazier Avenue as a way to provide chic boutique-ware to North Shore shoppers.
West, though, is ready for a change.
She has sold the boutique to her longtime friend and former employee Starr Card, who will be assuming control of the shop within the next two months. Fans of the boutique can rest easy, though. Card said the only thing that's going to change is a remodel in June.
"All the lines in the store will be kept the same," Card said of the fashion lines Frankie and Julian's currently carries. "I say if it isn't broke, don't fix it. People will still get the same great service they look forward to now."
West hadn't grown tired of her shop, though. In fact, she's become fast friends with new neighbor Betty True, owner of Backstreet Betty's, which moved nearby on Frazier late last year. But West has been running the shop for more than 12 years and wants to see what else she can do.
"I'm ready for something different, you know?" West said. "Running the boutique has been great."
As for what that "something different" is, though, West isn't quite sure. She's angling to use the talents she picked up from years running Frankie and Julian's and apply them to a larger department store as a buyer, traveling to fashion shows around the country to gather information about what styles and trends will be big in the upcoming season.
Right now, she's content not knowing exactly where she will end up.
As for Card, she's already been taken by West on two buying trips to teach her the ins and outs of managing the style Card wants for the boutique when she takes over - a style, she said, that will be very similar to what's already on the shelves.
Until then, Card will have to liquidate much of the existing stock. Until Friday, May 26, the boutique is hosting a large sale on most product. For more information, call Frankie and Julian's at 266-6661.