A new clothing store stocked with the latest styles is open for business in House Springs.
Owner Pamela Ridenour, who operates Kiss My Rack with her husband, Steven, had a soft opening in November and plans to hold a grand opening in March or April.
Kiss My Rack is at 12 Gravois Station Road in a shopping plaza that also houses Hometown Cafe and Slo Odie’s.
“Our neighbors who we share the plaza with have been extremely welcoming and helpful,” Ridenour said. “The people of House Springs also have been so welcoming and so nice. They really appreciate us coming here.”
Ridenour, 53, of De Soto said the store carries men’s, women’s and children’s clothing in a variety of sizes and styles.
She said she purchases new and unworn name-brand clothing by the pallet from different wholesalers, allowing her to keep prices down.
“One of the things we pride ourselves on is we have a lot of larger-sized clothing,” Ridenour said. “Our men’s sizes can go all the way up to 6X, and our women’s up to 5X. Since we’ve opened, we’ve had a very nice clientele of men, actually, who come here themselves for larger sizes.”
Ridenour said the House Springs location is perfect for her store due to its proximity to other towns, like Cedar Hill, High Ridge and Dittmer.
She said she wants to give her customers a shopping alternative to the big chain retailers.
“We want to be able to offer the community the option to come and get new clothing without having to go to Walmart or drive all the way into Gravois Bluffs or something like that,” Ridenour said. “For the people who prefer not to order online, they have another option.”
She said she briefly opened Kiss My Rack in Ironton, where she and her husband also own Kiss My Glass Smoke Shop. The couple owns a second smoke shop with the same name in Farmington.
After temporarily moving her clothing store to De Soto on a hunt for more space, Ridenour said she chose to move Kiss My Rack permanently to House Springs due to the shop’s size and location.
Ridenour said her family helps her run the clothing store. She has a daughter, Samantha, 28, a son, Logan, 12, and two grandchildren, Gabriel, 7, and Evelyn, 4.
“My son sells stickers to help pay for his Fortnite (video game) addiction,” Ridenour said. “My daughter goes around and straightens up the racks and my granddaughter likes to go around and look at all the pretty dresses to make sure they meet her approval.”
Kiss My Rack is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The store is closed on Monday and Tuesday. For more information, call 636-671-7265.