Story By Donald Campbell

Another formerly empty storefront in downtown Fort Payne has now been filled and is ready to welcome new customers inside.

Leather & Lace, located at 116 Gault Avenue North, officially opened to the public on Monday, and its owners say things have already been going well.

“It’s been going great today,” co-owner Tyler Stephenson said Monday afternoon. “We had a bunch of people in here early today. They really seem to like our products.”

Carrying a range of women’s clothing and accessories, co-owner Eric Stephenson said they began working on getting their store ready for shoppers in early October. In a post on social media, Tyler Stephenson said she felt the store’s grand opening was a dream come true and was beside herself that it was actually about to happen. In that same post, she described Leather & Lace as “a place where you can come and feel completely lost, not knowing your potential, and leave feeling confident, curated, and of course, chic…whether that be a hip leather jacket for the wild child or a delicate lace fit for the girl next door.”

Despite only having been open for no more than a week, the Stephensons are looking forward to getting more items in stock and offering an even wider selection to customers.

“We’ll be getting more in soon,” Tyler Stephenson said. “We’re so excited to be here.”