HYDE PARK — Belle Up is expecting.
The popular maternity and women's clothing store in Beverly is adding a second location at 1504 E. 53rd St. in Hyde Park.
"I never met a challenge I didn't like," said Jamenda McCoy, who founded the store in Mount Greenwood in 2009.
McCoy, a Beverly resident, opened the store to sell high-end maternity clothes for working moms and others. She added non-maternity clothes in summer 2013 and moved the shop to the small yet busy shopping district near the 103rd Street Metra station on Dec. 4.
"Once we added the women's stuff, I knew we were moving toward that" second location, McCoy said.
Howard Ludwig says the holiday season was great for Belle Up:
Belle Up's latest storefront is part of a partnership with the University of Chicago. The Hyde Park institution has been working to reinvigorate the 53rd Street commercial corridor by offering retailers a chance to try out their concepts with a series of pop-up stores.
"I think that the Hyde Park neighborhood and the Beverly area have a lot of similarities," McCoy said.
She believes both areas don't have enough local, women's retail options. The South Side communities also have plenty of working moms who are looking for unique products and a personalized shopping experience that's close to home, she said
"I don't want to be a place that sells mass-manufactured stuff that makes you look like the next person," McCoy said.
Her store that's evenly divided between maternity clothes and women's wear will have until October to decide whether or not Hyde Park is a good fit.
"I see it working," McCoy said.
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