With a projected mid-April move-in date, a minimum of fanfare and only a few changes to its well-worn new home, Mudpie — the upscale children’s store in Cow Hollow — will claim the space at 2185 Fillmore that has been sitting empty since Shabby Chic went bankrupt two years ago.
Run by mother and daughter Cheryl and Sarah Perliss, Mudpie has operated since 1976 on Union Street at Gough. The mother-daughter team was able to pull off something that had eluded many who coveted the space — including Restoration Hardware, Chase Bank, Athleta, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs. They convinced the landlord they were a good fit.
“I really appreciate where the landlord is coming from,” says Sarah Perliss. “There’s respect for the street. He didn’t want a chain. And he didn’t want another women’s store. He wanted a family-run business. When his whole family came to our store to meet our family, that was acceptance day for us.”
Perliss says changes on Union Street prompted Mudpie to move after 35 years. “Union Street has just kind of taken a turn, with lots of vacancies,” she says. “It’s a younger crowd there now — and they don’t really get us.”
Perliss lives only a few blocks from her new location — and recalls the two decades it was home to the revered home and gift shop Fillamento. She has kept a close eye on the neighborhood. “I’ve seen the growth and development on Fillmore in the last couple years, and it’s really exciting,” she says. “There’s more foot traffic, and many of our customers live nearby, so our move will be good for them, too.”
Preparatory work, mostly confined to sanding the floors and painting the walls, is proceeding quickly. “We’re leaving the integrity of the place because it’s so beautiful — especially the balcony,” Perliss says. In the new store, antique fixtures will fill the mezzanine. Mudpie will still offer shoppers clothing, costumes and games for babies and children. They plan to add more toys and books, along with an expanded selection of furniture for nurseries and children’s bedrooms.
“And we’ll also be including shoes. Right now there’s no place in the neighborhood to buy kids’ shoes,” says Perliss. ”We really want to cater to the needs of the neighborhood.”
Mudpie signed a long-term lease that will allow the store to do just that for many years to come.
Filed under: Retail Report
