On Oct. 20, the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for La Rue 26 Vintage Marketplace and Boutique, a new business that just opened off of the Dawsonville square.
The boutique currently includes vintage housewares, decorations, clothing and furniture, as well as wares from other local businesses like Sweet Sassafras Boutique and Ten Point Boutique. According to Pelletier, she and Pate plan to expand their business as they move forward.
Dawson County Chamber of Commerce representatives, along with several city leaders and council members, joined La Rue owners Becca Pelletier and Adriana Pate to cut the ribbon and celebrate the boutique’s grand opening.
“We have more things coming; we’ll have the back that will be catering to artists, we have a potter that’s gonna come in and teach pottery classes and we’ll be teaching classes too,” Pelletier said. “In the future we’re hoping for coffee and some pastries and things like that; we’re just gonna keep evolving and getting better and better and we’re excited about it.”
Pelletier said she and Pate are excited to have finally opened their business, and especially to get to be a part of downtown Dawsonville.
“We’re really happy to be part of Dawsonville, especially the old town part, cause we know that we need more things to bring people in so we’re really happy to be a part of that,” Pelletier said.
Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason said while he’s attended dozens of the chamber’s ribbon cuttings, he’s always excited to attend one like La Rue that is a true downtown business joining the community.
“I’ve done a lot of ribbon cuttings and I usually get to tell people at the ribbon cutting ‘you’re not really in the city of Dawsonville, you just have our zip code’ but y’all are really in our city and we’re glad that you’re here,” Eason said to Pelletier and Pate during the ribbon cutting ceremony. “We’re glad to have y’all here in your community.”
Council members John Walden and Will Illg were also in attendance and echoed what Eason said.
Illg, who serves on both the city council and the downtown development authority, said adding a new business like La Rue to the downtown area is exactly what he and his fellow DDA members try to encourage daily.
“I’m on the Downtown Development Authority and one of the big things that we’re into is trying to attract and retain businesses,” Illg said during the ceremony, “so if you got a need and I can help you you call me and if I can’t figure it out I’ll pass you off to somebody that can figure it out.”
Opening a business like La Rue has been the pair’s dream for a long time, and that they are grateful to the City of Dawsonville for welcoming them with open arms.
“Thank you to everybody; to the city that has been so nice to us and opened many doors,” Pate said. “This is our first time running our business and it’s been a dream for so long and here we are thanks to God and to the City of Dawsonville, friends and family; it’s a pleasure to be here and we’re very thankful.”