When adults ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, some of them already know.
“Having a store was the first thing I ever wanted to do when I grew up,” says Brooke Bebout, owner of The Revival boutique, which has locations in Waupaca and Neenah. So, when she saw the empty space at 111 W. Fulton St. in Waupaca in 2012, it felt like a full-circle moment.
The store opened in 2012 and is under renovation. Bebout hopes to reopen in time for the store’s 10th anniversary this month.The Revival also has a location in Neenah at 123 W. Wisconsin Ave., which opened in 2018.
Bebout fills her stores with wearable pieces based on her eclectic taste — sometimes classic, sometimes edgy — in limited quantities to help ensure people don’t see repeats, especially in a small town like Waupaca.
“Fashion should be an expression of who we are, more so than just following what everyone else is doing,” she says. “I’ve always been the person that doesn’t want to have the same thing as everyone else.”
Her stores also feature local artwork, as well as fun and quirky gift items and a range of sizes and prices designed to be inclusive.
“I wanted to stay in a price point that would be within the reach of the average person, because I’ve always been the average person,” she says. “I’ve never been one to have a ton of money to spend on clothes.”
When the pandemic hit, The Revival had already had an online store for several years, and Bebout shifted to driving sales on social media, working to create materials such as launch videos and fit reviews.
“I felt that even if my customers were among the people who couldn’t buy anything, that they could at least have some entertainment — a kind of reprieve from what was going on,” Bebout says.
“I knew I didn’t want to do anything else,” Bebout says of owning her own business. “I still don’t want to do anything except have a store.”
