By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The name of the business says it all.
Your Kitchen Connection, located on E. Main Street, is the newest addition to downtown business. The store has everything you need for your kitchen, including pots, pans, utensils, cookbooks, tea kettles, coffee beans, spices, jams and much more.
On Friday, Nov. 16, the store celebrated its grand opening and Niles was pleased to show off its 31st ribbon cutting of the year.
Owner Jill Roberts said her idea for the store came from her own love of being in the kitchen.
"Everyone says, why this store? Well, Niles doesn't have anything like this. I like food, I love being in the kitchen and I know if I enjoy it this much, others probably to do," Roberts said.
She stated she wants to offer people of the community great kitchen products, and it seems the avid cookers of the community have already been swarming the store.
"The gift cards are actually almost gone," she said.
Roberts added that many products in her store would make great gifts.
"There are plenty of useful items in here. I did not want to compete with Wal-Mart when we did this. I want to offer people something different," she said.
The store's ending results look great, but Roberts admitted it wasn't the easiest time leading up to the opening. Renovations on the building began in July and when Roberts first entered the store, her first words were "oh my gosh."
Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ron Sather said the building needed an entire makeover, including painting and de-molding.
"It needed everything," Roberts said.
With much help from Roberts' best friends, Stephanie and Amy, her husband, Scott, and others, the store was transformed and now features dark orange walls and kitchen-themed decorations to fit the store.
"I have had so much help with this. It's actually been overwhelming and I cannot thank everyone enough. I am really happy to be in Niles," she said.
Store hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The phone number is 687-0880.