Bailey |amp| Beck moving gift, floral shop to city's south side

A business that originated from craft shows and evolved into a retail gift shop and florist on historic Walnut Street is now relocating to the Montclair Center. Bailey & Beck, at 1122 E. Walnut, will officially open April 16 at 1345 E. Montclair. The store will hold a grand opening event during the first week of May.

Store owners Alan Bailey and Dan Beck had operated in the Walnut Street Historic District for the past five years and just felt it was the right time to move.

The move was particularly prompted by their desire to be more accessible to their customers.

"We needed to go more where our customers are coming from and this is more centrally located," Bailey said.

He noted that they are getting requests for items and deliveries in Nixa and Ozark, areas that they don't normally service. But he thinks the move south may extend their delivery route to include such surrounding towns. It may also expand the number of employees.

Another issue in the decision to move was the functionality of the space. The house on Walnut, Bailey said, restricted business somewhat, because they had to combine the floral and checkout areas and had to work around walls and windows when creating displays.

"The space we're going into is more functional for what we do," he said. "It's more planned for retail."

The final big benefit, Bailey said, is the visible parking at the Montclair Center that will more than double the 10 parking spaces they have now. He feels that Bailey & Beck will complement the other stores within the shopping center, including a beauty salon, exercise shop and book store.

Bailey said the 3,600-square-foot house on Walnut, which they've owned since 1996, is for sale and they will lease their new space. He expects the building will sell for office use. "It seems like a lot of Walnut Street is going for office space and especially this historic district area."