August 7, 2008 Issue
Business Spotlight
The Dande Lion’s Shooz & Shiraz—
Shoes, Wine and The Best Fitting Pants in the World
Story by Sam Calhoun
Because I have one X and one Y chromosome, the significance of being able to special order women’s shoes in narrow and slim sizes was somewhat lost on me as the staff of Shooz & Shiraz explained the option. But later that evening, as I recounted the day’s events with friends, every woman in the group stopped me and made me repeat what I had said about special orders, narrow and slim. Their mouths agape, hanging on every word and scribbling down notes about the store’s address, the women proved to me that the offerings at Shooz & Shiraz—a new shoe and wine salon at The Dande Lion in Banner Elk—are comparable to custom-sized golf clubs or custom ordered hot rods for men.
I should have known, though. As I entered The Dande Lion and Shooz & Shiraz on Monday afternoon, at least 25 women were bustling back and forth between the clothes racks, each trailed by an attentive staff member. Everyone was smiling and I was surprised at the sheer number of customers on a regular Monday.
Welcome to The Dande Lion and Shooz & Shiraz, where the apparel of Fifth Avenue meets the welcoming attitude of the mountains. Located at 4501 Tynecastle Highway in Banner Elk, The Dande Lion and Shooz & Shiraz are owned by Jane Deavers. Janeen Sherwood is the manager and Ashley Owens is the assistant manager.
After 11 years in business, The Dande Lion is an institution of sorts. Within the store, customers will find apparel, evening bags, handbags, gift cards, girly gifts, golf and tennis apparel, golf shoes, jewelry, shoes and spa items. Eight staff members complete the package as each is trained to be personal shoppers for customers, whether they are buying one item or dozens.
“We’re service, service, service here at The Dande Lion and Shooz & Shiraz,” said Sherwood. “We take care of each of our customers, whether they want one piece or an entire new wardrobe; we work with them from head to toe.”
Last Friday, Deavers saw a long-time dream become a reality when she opened Shooz & Shiraz in the space next door to The Dande Lion.
“Shooz & Shiraz is a shoe and wine salon where we have our after [5:00 p.m.] apparel—handbags, jewelry, dressy clothing and dressy shoes,” said Deavers. “And we feature a wine tasting every day from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.”
With wine from Erick’s Wine and Cheese and a clean, contemporary atmosphere, Shooz & Shiraz is designed to be a gathering place for women of the High Country. New shoes arrive daily—all of them can be special ordered in narrow and slim—and are on display, but Deavers hopes women will come and enjoy the atmosphere even if they don’t plan to buy any new shoes. Drooling over the selection, however, is allowed.
Deavers is originally from Springfield, Ill., but she moved to Naples, Fla. after junior college because her late husband worked there. For the next 25 years, Deavers worked as an interior designer in Naples. Thirteen years ago, Deavers and her husband moved to the High Country full time, living in a summer home they had built here a few years prior. Less than two years later, Deavers opened The Dande Lion.
“After leaving interior design, I wanted to do something and I thought there was a niche up here for Dande Lion-type things,” said Deavers. “My original store carried more gifts and home items, but I found that people will buy a lamp and not come back [into the store] for 15 years, but if they buy some pants, they’ll be back in two days,” she laughed.
The Dande Lion first opened in 1997 in a small space in Banner Elk, but soon moved to a building in Foscoe across from the Foscoe Country Corner. Three years ago, the store moved to Shoppes at Tynecastle.
Above all else, The Dande Lion is known nationally for its women’s pants selection. Many success stories indicate that once women wear these pants they are sold for life and instantly become the product’s best advertisers. For instance, Deavers tells not one, but two stories of women taking cruises in South Africa and finding other women on the boat wearing the heralded pants. Also, a group of women in Texas are all believers in the pants, passing The Dande Lion’s website off to others as a best-kept secret.
So what is it about these pants?
“We’re known for our pant lines—a dressy pant from Paris (the brand name, not the city), and a casual pant from Vanilia. We shipped them to 48 states last year and we are one of the top five retailers for the pants in the country,” explained Deavers. “The pants are slimming; machine-washable, so they’re great for travel; they feature body-reactive fabric, so they fit most everybody; we have them in every style, from Capri to flow; and they come in great colors.”
The pants and other apparel items at The Dande Lion come in sizes 0 to 16.
In addition to the pants, customers frequent The Dande Lion because of the store’s personal service. The proof is that 75 percent of the store’s business is from repeat customers. So why do they come back?
“It’s Jane’s shopping,” answered Sherwood. “She buys for all shapes, sizes and tastes.”
Deavers carries a wide variety of products and doesn’t stock any items “deep,” to make sure that customers don’t see other women wearing the same apparel. The Dande Lion also features “comfortable pricing,” said Deavers. “It all looks high end, but the price tag doesn’t. You get a lot of bang for your buck.
“There are not many places like The Dande Lion. We take care of our customers, spending as long as we need, even if it takes all day and we need to order lunch in,” said Deavers. “Our customers and our staff, it’s like a small family. We’re very supportive of each other. We actually miss customers when they leave.”
To help customers find a way to stay longer, Deavers created Shooz & Shiraz in the hopes of establishing a sophisticated and fun gathering place. The addition of Shooz & Shiraz also added more dressing rooms to the busy store and allowed some of the dressy items to find their own home away from the growing golf and tennis collection.
“It’s always a party [at Shooz & Shiraz],” Deavers said.
Both stores are open year round.
“Right now, our customers are more seasonal residents, but we really enjoy the slower times in the winter when we can get to know and build relationships with our local population,” said Deavers.
Shooz & Shiraz features the special orders on shoes, spa items such as the popular Mediterranean Spa Body Butter and a new perfume line—Shelley Kyle—that is available no where else in the High Country. The store’s wine tastings are open to the public.
“Frankly, it’s not all about the clothes—it’s about all the friends we make,” added Deavers. “We’re looking forward to enjoying this new spot for a while and having people use it. But we’re always looking for new ideas because we love what we do.”
The Dande Lion and Shooz & Shiraz are located in the Shoppes at Tynecastle at 4501 Tynecastle Highway in Banner Elk. Both stores are open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and are closed on Sunday. For more information on The Dande Lion, call 828-898-3566, 1-866-222-2050 or click to www.dandelionstyles.com. For more information on Shooz & Shiraz, call 828-898-WINE (9463) or click to www.shoozandshiraz.com.
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