By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Laura Stinebach is about to practice what she preached.
She and her husband Terry today open Fashion Garb, Etc., 140 S. Front St., in the former Apparel Alternatives.
"I've always lived here in Dowagiac and I've always said a good clothing store would do well here," she said Friday.
Previously, Stinebach has worked as a tax preparer, including H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt, and has been a stay-at-home mom.
The couple have five children, who "suggested all kinds of names, but none of them could agree on any one. Fashion Garb popped into my head one day when I was standing at the sink doing dishes. My husband said, 'Do it before you change your mind.' "
Terry Stinebach works for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). "Every time it snows, I have to go to work," he said, so he's been pretty busy since the end of January.
"I'm the lead worker for the night shift. It's 12-hour coverage, 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. For a few weeks I worked more overtime hours than regular hours," which limited the time he could devote to helping his wife get the store ready to reopen.
The Stinebachs will continue to sell consignment clothing upstairs in addition to new merchandise on the main level.
"We wanted to open in Dowagiac to begin with, but when you drive through everything looks full," she said, "but we did look around," including in Paw Paw.
"But Dowagiac was where it's got to be. We're going to start a little bit of men's and see how that works because nobody in town does it," Laura said. "Etc." encompasses jewelry, children's clothing and formalwear.
They offer a 10-percent discount to Southwestern Michigan College students with identification.
While Fashion Garb is the fifth consecutive apparel store to be housed within the storefront owned by Bonnie Booth of Dowagiac, it has not been without a tenant since Booth purchased and renovated the building in 1990, when she opened Left Bank Outlet, featuring junior and women's apparel, and household items.
According to Vickie Phillipson, program director for the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Authority, this landmark building and prime retail site was originally constructed in 1911 as Dowagiac National Bank.
Phillipson said when Booth closed her shop, Jacqueline Hale of Dowagiac opened Spoiled Rotten specializing in junior's apparel.
Hale also added the upper-floor consignment boutique for women and children.
The store was later purchased by Glenda Parker, of Dowagiac, who gave it the Apparel Alternative name and returned women's clothing to the mix of merchandise featured on the main floor.
Phillipson said Ernestine Mitchell, of Dowagiac, who purchased the store from Parker in August 2001, retained the Apparel Alternatives name and expanded its merchandise to include women's plus sizes.
She said Mitchell continued to own and operate the store until early February, while at the same time working fulltime for Honeywell in South Bend, Ind., where she has been employed since 1968.
Phillipson said Stinebach, who surfaced with her office in late December in search of a site for her new business, began settling into the storefront almost immediately.
Booth continues to operate Tone and Tone on the lower level of the building by appointment only.
Fashion Garb's hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.