COMMACK, NY – In 2015, Popi Lubrano and her daughter Christina, opened their joint venture, a high-end boutique store. Now, 10 years on, it’s become a thriving business where customers and clients have turned into family.
All her life, Popi Lubrano has had a strong love and passion for fashion, and despite having big dreams for her future, she never thought she’d one day be running her own boutique alongside her daughter in Long Island, New York.
She explained in an interview with The National Herald how prior to opening up Popi’s Place, she worked for corporate America for about 10 years.
“I worked for a company called Caché where I managed [the store on] Walt Whitman road, and then one day they went bankrupt and they closed all their stores,” Lubrano told TNH.
“The opportunity to open my own store came my way when all my clients said, ‘who’s going to dress us now?’ so the door kind of really opened for me at that point, and knowing I had that big customer base, I decided to do my own business.”
“This was a dream of mine since I was younger – I got a job at 14 years old in this industry, where I sold clothes in a local boutique.”
Working in the industry for so many years, the business owner with roots in Piraeus and Symi revealed what it was that she loved most about fashion.
“I just love the way it makes women feel when they put clothes on and when they come back and they say ‘Poppy, I got all these compliments on this outfit, everybody loves it, and women love to hear praises from other women,” Lubrano said.
“I love seeing women that love fashion come and visit me and that they trust my judgment on their fit, and style because I dress women for their body type, and I’m not just going to put something on you and let you walk out of my store, because you’re a reflection of me.”
Creating a tailored experience for every guest that steps through Popi’s Place, Lubrano described her high-end boutique as one that is ‘bridge’, a term she said depicts a store offering between a moderate to a couture price point.
“We offer one-on-one customer service, and we are highly trained stylists here with over 40 years’ experience,” she expressed.
Now, sharing her love with her daughter Christina, Lubrano’s daughter also runs the business alongside her. She described what it’s like running a mother-daughter-run boutique.
“It’s amazing. There are things that she has knowledge about that I don’t know, and I’m sure the other way around too, especially when it comes to our online site and computer rights, so we kind of balance each other out,” Lubrano said.
“We’re both buyers, we do the buying, and my eye is different than hers, but we both really think about what we’re going to buy for each customer too, as you have to constantly follow the trends, and you can never have the same item. It’s all about stepping out of the box a little bit, and it’s a lot of work, but it’s enjoyable.”
Lubrano further shared what she loved most about running the business as a whole.
“I love that we’ve met such great women and built such great relationships with them because now they have become like family,” she expressed.
“We even go out to dinner with them now, as we’ve just established such strong relationships with them, and some of them even came to my daughter’s wedding. We are very fortunate to have built such close relationships.”
Wrapping up another successful year ahead of the holidays, the Greek-American store owner revealed what the business has been like leading up to Christmas.
“The holidays for us are… well, every year it’s different,” Lubrano stated.
“We have our local men that come in to shop for their wives and significant others, and we also sell a lot of gift cards, and we also do really beautiful gift wrapping too. We present them with a box which is a little more special, and we offer that personalized experience.”
Now with only a couple of days left ‘till Christmas, Lubrano passed on a message on behalf of her daughter, to all their loyal customers who have turned into friends and family.
“We would like to wish them a very happy, healthy and prosperous year, with many blessings to everybody,” Lubrano said.
“Merry Christmas and ‘Xronia Polla!’”
