DOWAGIAC — Last week, Melissa Gunn, of Dowagiac, stood in a nearly empty storefront, with nothing but sawdust on the floor and empty shelves along the wall filling the space. However, Gunn said the location on Front Street will soon be transformed into a Christmas paradise.

Deck the Halls, a specialty Christmas store in Dowagiac, is moving from its previous location on Commercial Street to a new location at 202 Front St. The new storefront is planning to open this weekend.

“It’s exciting,” Gunn said. “It may look impossible now, but we are going to be open Saturday at the latest. You’d be surprised the kind of turn around we have.”

Deck the Halls opened on Nov. 1, 2017. Not only did Gunn say she has had more success than she expected in her first year of business, but she added that she is proud to be a business owner in a city that she loves.

“How Deck the Halls got started is kind of funny,” she said. “I’ve always loved Christmas, and I was visiting a Christmas store with my husband and I said, ‘I would love to have a store like this,’ and my husband said ‘well then, do it.’ … We got things together really quickly, and I’ve loved it. I’m still in complete shock at how supportive the community was and how busy I was.”

Though the move was not necessarily planned ahead of time, Gunn said once she found out the property on Front Street was open, she knew she had to take the opportunity.

“Since opening, business has gone really well, so when the building became available, it felt natural to move over and expand,” she said.

With the new location having nearly 2.5 times the amount of space as the previous location, Gunn said she will add new merchandise to the store in order to fill the space. Items to be added include more holiday items and décor, — including Halloween and Easter — seasonal products, Michigan themed products and Michigan made products.

“We are going to move past just Christmas,” she said. “We will still be a Christmas store. This will always be a Christmas store, but I am hoping to expand. I already have products in the works and on the way.”

In addition to adding new space and new products, Gunn said she is hopeful that the new location on Front Street will bring the store more visibility and exposure.

Not only did Gunn say she is excited about the new storefront, but that she wants to share the experience with the community and have them be excited with her.

“We have some really cool stuff coming in,” she said. “I hope everyone will come out to see what we have going on here.”