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Business & Tech

Fast Friendship Makes Consignment Store Twice as Nice

Who said don't mix business and friendship? Two mothers, Leticia Estep and Andrea Garzon, went from friends to successful consignment business partners.

Leticia Estep spent her life in retail, starting at age 14.

Now she is the part owner of a women's downtown consignment boutique, . 

“You have to pay attention in life because you may be learning skills that will help you later,” Estep says. She worked for Grendha, a Brazilian shoe company, and did trade shows across the United States. She worked as a retail CEO’s assistant, and later, in fragrance for L’Oreal and Liz Claiborne.

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She first became passionate for consignment stores when she was looking for work after her divorce. She found a part-time position at Second Time Around, a consignment shop (that is now closed) in Tarpon Springs.

“I thought the consignment store was really cool and I said, ‘I want to have one of these’,” she said.

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After working there for eight months, she was told that a consignment store on Douglas Avenue one block south of Main Street was looking to rent a room. When Estep inquired about the room, the owner said she was ready to sell the whole business. Estep was interested, but she did not have the full asking price.

Estep had also been developing a strong friendship with a mother of a child with whom her daughter swam. She and Andrea Garzon had daughters the same age and they clicked instantly. Though they had only known each other for six months, Estep proposed the idea of the two of them buying the consignment store together. Garzon would remain a silent partner since she already owned The Ranch House in Tampa.   

Six years later, Estep says, “Being partners with Andrea is perfect. I don’t know how else to say it. It is perfect. I always include her in what is going on in the store and she trusts me. She gives me complete respect. We have a great friendship. And our girls have grown up in the store. My daughter even works here sometimes and is building up retail experiences of her own.”

Stop in and see how a Prada purse looks on your arm. Or create some room in your closet and make an appointment to bring in gently used clothes, purses, fragrances or shoes for consignment. After your visit,  on Patch! 

If shopping during the day is out of the question, . 

Be sure to say hello to Nicholas Chulupa, Estep’s  adopted from . “When I saw his picture, I knew he was mine,” she says. (Or just follow him on Facebook.)

Want to go?

  • , 674 Douglas Ave.
  • Contact: 727-734-1401, www.​twiceasnicestore.​com/
  • Hours: Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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