PORTLAND, Ore. — Local resale boutique Hoot-n-Annie has been Tina Donnaloia’s usual business for the last decade. This year has been anything but business as usual.
“We’re at about 40-50% of revenue at the other stores, so we’re still not quite there,” she said.
The numbers have a way to go, but that didn’t stop Tina from opening a new location on SW Barnes Road in Portland.
“We’re no longer selling fancy things or things for events nobody’s going anywhere,” said Donnaloia. “It’s a definite shift to comfortable things, we’re selling lots of sweatpants and cozy clothes, but also games and toys.”
They were forced to close earlier this year, then switched to online shopping. Tina has made sure her stores still offer affordable and sustainable options for families, particularly women and kids.
“Especially during this time when kids have been at home forever, and they’re growing and they’re going to continue to grow,” she said.
Donnaloia loves the big circle of support, helping community members who bring in items for consignment and keeping those dollars local. “The big box stores were kind of all we had for a while, so slowly as the small business were able to get some speed they could start opening and people are really wanting to support them.”
Tina will be the first to tell you Hoot-n-Annie isn’t the only small business facing an uphill climb, but for her, “back to normal” isn’t the goal. She wants to help out her neighbors in tough times.
“Our city is special - it’s having some struggles right now, as is the whole world … but we are pretty die-hard local supporters here in Portland,” she said. “We’re happy to help you with items that you want to consign and share amongst others and find new treasures here.”