Mini Market Kids Boutique Offers Up Youthful Stylin' Wardrobes

Opening a new business is always a risky proposition.

Tack on a timid economy and it takes brave soul to give it a whirl as an entrepreneur. 

For three Merrick friends, though, opening the Mini Market Kids Boutique in their hometown was a no-brainer. 

"We've all been in the garment industry for several years," said co-owner Rebecca Scarfone. "Maria [Fasano] is a children's designer, I'm in women's wholesale and Palma [Reyes] is a jewelry designer." 

The three Merrick friends have been working together on projects for years and figured, "Why not open a store in children's wholesale?"

The Mini Market Kids Boutique, located at 11 Landsdowne Ave., opened on Aug. 6 and sales have tripled since day one. 

"There are not a lot of stores that focus on this type of product," Scarfone said. "There are a lot of women's stores—there's probably like 10 in Merrick—so this is the direction that we went in."

According to their Facebook group, Mini Market Kids Boutique guarantees, "Boutique clothing without the boutique prices."

Prices range anywhere from $20-$40 for girl newborns through age seven and all the clothes are derived from the Children's Market on 34th Street in Manhattan.

"There's a lot of product out there and a lot of young designers that aren't really being represented in Merrick," Scarfone said, "so we decided to bring some of the newer designers in and get away from a lot of the tye-dye."

While the boutique does still offer some tye-dye clothing, they strive to offer unique and creatively put together clothing as well.

"We want [children] to come in and be able to shop on their own while their moms are shopping," Fasano said. "That's why this store is very kid-proof. They could walk around and touch things that are inexpensive and then they can buy them."

That's exactly what the "mini market" is there to serve. While the kids can choose from a variety of pens, lip-glosses, lollipops, gumballs and more, mom can walk along the glittered floor, browsing through clothes, vintage jewelry and hair accessories.

"We give everybody a basket and they kind of just fill it up like they're in a market," Scarfone said. "Kids are mesmerized when they see [the mini market]."

As for future plans, Scarfone said ideally they would like to become a franchise and have 100 stores.

"Eventually, in a year or so, everything will be doubled; we'll have a lot more products and maybe some more boys," she said. "Hopefully in a year we'll have a bigger store, but we'll always stay in Merrick."

But for now, the three partners are happy with their new baby and are proud of their "girly bodega," as they often call it.