A new boutique opened in Rainbow City, bringing life to a building that once brought joy to a community.
Jenny Coker said she was driving down Rainbow Drive when she noticed a vacant building from her past. She called it a “sunshine spot.” Her parents had brought her here when she was a kid; at that time, it was Rainbow Yogurt.
“Our parents would bring us here to get ice cream or yogurt, and it was just a neat spot to come to,” Coker said. “When I saw it was available, I thought ‘I love that building, it needs to be something.”
Coker, who has been designing and making jewelry for 15 years, knew she would need to get a job for the summer, and after seeing the building and a little bit of praying, she knew what that job would be — the Brick and Mortar Gift Co.
Since opening on April 5, Coker said the community has been supportive and she has had a lot of fun opening the store.
“I want it to be a bright spot in the community,” Coker said. “I want everyone to love coming in and I want them to leave better when they go than when they came in.”
Brick and Mortar Gift Co., located at 3929A Rainbow Drive, has clothing for women, sizes small to 3XL, and children 0 to 4T. They also carry an array of candles, soap, jewelry, gifts and more. Currently, the store is open Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“It’s a place where you can come in and walk around and not feel pressure to buy anything,” Ashley Fortenberry, lifetime friend and coworker of Coker’s, said. “We want people to stop by whether they buy something or not.”
Earlier this year, Coker and her husband, Jason, moved back from Texas to Alabama. They left the Yellowhammer state originally so Jason could take a job at Rising Aviation High School. They returned home to be closer to her daughter and granddaughter. Coker accepted a job at John S. Jones Elementary School in Rainbow City as a fifth grade teacher, a position she held before moving to Texas. Coker said she will even be in the same classroom.
