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Mobile Boutique Opening First Brick-and-Mortar Shop in Belle Harbor

By Katie Honan | July 27, 2015 4:12pm | Updated on July 27, 2015 4:50pm
 End of the A will keep the truck but sell more items in a larger store on Beach 129th Street. 
End of the A will keep the truck but sell more items in a larger store on Beach 129th Street. 
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Tara McKiernan

BELLE HARBOR — A mobile boutique that's been selling its wares from a truck parked around the city is expanding to its first brick and mortar shop at the end of the summer. 

The boutique, End of the A, opened last summer in a former pool supply truck, which the owners renovated to create an airy, beachy shop focused on women's clothing and accessories. 

After more than a year on the road, with stints at the Refinery Hotel, the Riis Park Bazaar and a winter shop in DUMBO, the team will expand to their first store on Beach 129th Street in Belle Harbor this September. 

The truck, which will remain open in the summers, parked up at Riis Park Bazaar.

Owners Tara McKiernan and Beth Waytowich said it's a natural next step for the 75-square-foot truck, which has been especially popular in Rockaway, their hometown.

McKiernan and Waytowich in 2014, while renovating their truck.

"We outgrew the truck, and it's seasonal," McKiernan, 31, said.

"After the winter last year, we knew we couldn't sustain ourselves with a pop-up shop, and with the response we got from the truck over the summer we knew it was something the people wanted," Waytowich added.

End of the A Boutique Cafe, which is currently under renovation, will also sell vegan treats baked by local Jaime Witkowski Hausler, who sells the treats under her company Balanced Bella.

McKiernan shows her renderings for their first shop, in Belle Harbor.

The 800 square-foot store gives them the space to expand their inventory and sell more items, including men's and children's clothing, according to McKiernan. 

They're aiming for a clean, sun-drenched shop, and recently traveled to flea markets around New England to pick up vintage buoys, an antique dress form and more. 

They hope to create a destination where visitors can not only shop, but also relax and check out other local businesses. 

"I'm looking forward to being the place that knows your name, a place that you can go and say hi," Waytowich said. "We want to make people feel good about spending their hard-earned money."

In the summers they'll continue to operate the truck, and they admit the jump to opening a shop — including rent — is a risk.

But "you take a risk with any business venture," McKiernan said.

"The truck let us test the waters, and now we're ready to grow."