SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. - A new Scottsdale boutique specializes in something that caters to a young bride’s current style obsession: cowgirl hats.
Owners Shantelle and Kenny Girard celebrated the ribbon-cutting of their second store, Rancher Hat Bar, in Scottsdale Sept. 1, 2023, from 4-6 p.m.
Girard said that the company started in January 2023 in a remodeled camper. She said the business was the first of its kind in California and soon it started to take off.
They opened their first brick-and-mortar, April, in Folsom, California.
The Scottsdale boutique is located 4225 North Scottsdale Rd. A popular area for bachelorette parties and girls’ nights.
The boutique’s official opening day is Sept. 2, and its hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Sunday.
The boutique has a wall covered in cowgirl hats that are all different colors. Courtney Aaenson, Hat Tender at Rancher Hat Bar, said its hats range in prices. She said they range from $70 to a couple hundred.
"Some bachelorette party girls aren’t going to want to spend $300 on a hat, but they’ll still get something that they love” Aaenson said.
The boutique also sells jewelry, dresses, cowgirl boots, tops and more.
Photo by Ashley Sinclair
Attendees ranged from Girard’s family members, local journalists, entrepreneurs, and members of Scottsdale’s Chamber of Commerce and its ambassadors.
Erica Acorn, director of business development for Scottsdale’s Chamber of Commerce, began the ribbon-cutting ceremony by thanking Girard for opening her boutique in Scottsdale.
Girard thanked her friends, landlords, husband and her customers.
Even though Girard’s first location is in Folsom, California, that isn’t her home. She said that her home is Scottsdale.
Now, four months later, she and her husband have opened their second location in their hometown.
Acorn said that Girard joined the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce to be a proud member of the community. She also said that this boutique will become an attraction because it's something fun to do with friends and it has charm.
“I was excited for her because I do know that the Bachelorette industry is huge in Scottsdale, and I think this will be a good economic driver for the city of Scottsdale,” Acorn said.
Even though Bachelorette parties are popular in Scottsdale, this isn’t what motivated Girard to open her store at this location.
Photo by Ashley Sinclair
Girard said that entrepreneurship runs in her family, adding that her grandmother opened a store in Scottsdale called Sidewalk Surfer in 1977.
Girard supported women owned businesses at her ribbon-cutting with her inclusion of Reagan Briggs, entrepreneur, and founder of Encore Mixology, global real estate advisor with Engel & Völkers Scottsdale and insurance broker with Medicare Advisors Inc.
Briggs said that she loves partnering with women owned businesses and that this collaboration was a “match made in heaven.”
She said that Girard reached out to her and that her boutique is adding to the western vibe of Scottsdale.
“Whether you're coming into town for a Bachelorette party, and you need some clothes to wear, or just something to wear at Buffalo Chip on the weekend, it's great,” Briggs said.
It's no easy task to start your own company/business. “I didn't get lucky. A lot of people tell me I'm lucky. I don't think that's the case. I think it's because I took chances and risks. I feel like more don’t and that's why entrepreneurship is for the brave" Girard said.
Girard said that since opening two boutiques, in less than a year, she dreams to do more.
“Now that we're in Scottsdale, I just want to keep expanding,” said Girard, “I want to bring the modern Cowgirl all over, to Napa, Dallas, all of it. I'm going to take over the world.”
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