The woman who wrote the Facebook review walked into Vintage & Lace carrying more than a purse.
She’d lost her husband in August. Grief had turned simple errands into heavy tasks, and on that particular day she was just “moseying around,” still in that fog where time feels thick and the world moves on without you. She wasn’t there for anything in particular—just wandering, just breathing, just trying to be out in the world again.
A member of the Vintage & Lace team noticed her. Not her outfit. Not her shopping list. Her.
The staffer walked by with a little plastic bag, reached in, and asked gently,
“Would you like a little Jesus?”
The woman smiled through the fog. “Everybody needs a little Jesus,” she replied.
It was a tiny gift, a simple token. But in her review she wrote, “I just want her to know how much she made my day.” 💕
When Cheryl Hope, owner of Vintage & Lace and sister store Lee Street Mercantile, saw that review pop up on Facebook, she messaged:
“This right here is a perfect example of what I would love for each customer – to feel the love of the Father at the moment they need it.”
That’s the heartbeat behind both of her shops here in Greenville: yes, beautiful things and great deals—but also peace, kindness, and the feeling that you’ve walked into a place where stress stays at the door.
And this holiday season, that heart is wrapped around 55 locally owned businesses under her roofs.
How a Vendor Became a Shopkeeper (Right in the Middle of 2020)
Before there were two shops and 55 businesses, there was just one booth and a tired commute.
Cheryl is a licensed hairdresser and massage therapist. For years she worked in Plano while living out this way—first in Wylie, then in Royse City—crossing the bridge day after day. Like many of us, she hit a moment where the routine just felt… done.
“God, I am just tired of driving across the bridge,” she remembers praying. “I want something I can do on this side.”
At the time, she was selling Plunder Jewelry and had a booth inside Vintage & Lace. It was supposed to be a side thing—a foothold closer to home.
Then came 2020.
Life shifted. Cheryl kept praying, kept working, kept wondering what God was preparing next. One day, on her drive to work, she felt something so clear it made her catch her breath:
“I’m going to give you a store.”
She didn’t know how or when, only that something was coming.
And then the opportunity arrived.
Vintage & Lace was going through a difficult season. The building needed significant work, vendors were struggling, and the shop’s future was uncertain. During that transition, Cheryl was given the chance to take over the store.
It wasn’t an easy decision. The timing was turbulent, the business needed rebuilding, and the numbers made it clear the road ahead wouldn’t be simple. But Cheryl couldn’t shake the sense that this was the very store God had whispered to her about months earlier.
So she stepped forward in faith, signing the lease beginning April 1, 2020 — just as the world was shifting in ways no one expected.
Sidewalk Pickups and Baby Steps Forward
On Cheryl’s very first official day as the new owner, the fire chief walked in—not with a ribbon to cut, but a restriction.
“You can’t have customers in the store,” he said. “But they can do sidewalk pickup.”
It wasn’t the grand opening she’d imagined, but it was a crack in the door.
With no shoppers to greet and no hair clients to see, Cheryl did the only thing she could: she went online. She walked the aisles with her phone, filmed videos, posted photos, and turned Vintage & Lace into a virtual treasure hunt.
Vendors were nervous. Some wanted to cut their losses and leave right away. But slowly—baby steps forward—sales came. Rent got paid. The light bill got covered. Month after month, the store hung on.
The building itself had challenges—parking, repairs, the kind of behind-the-scenes issues small business owners know all too well. Eventually the space went up for sale, and Cheryl had to decide: close this chapter or trust the same God who had said, “I’m going to give you a store.”
She asked for a sign.
“Lord, if You want us to stay open, this has to be our busiest season ever.”
It was.
Through that wild, stretching year, Vintage & Lace found its footing. It grew enough to support an employee. It kept 30+ local vendors in business. And one day, Cheryl finally let go of that commute across the bridge.
She was home.
Shrinking to Be Sheltered
When the original building finally became too much to maintain, another location opened up just in time. It was smaller. Less flashy. A little tucked in.
“At first it felt like shrinking back,” Cheryl admits. “But it was actually a protected place.”
The new Vintage & Lace location is cozy—lower ceilings, carpet underfoot, and corners that invite you to slow down. Primitive pieces and antiques mix with gently used estate items, handmade goods, boutique clothing, and Cheryl’s carefully chosen new décor.
It’s the kind of place where the music is upbeat Christian, customers catch themselves singing along, and people wander with a coffee in hand, forgetting what they came in for and leaving with exactly what they needed.
Stress at the door. A little retail therapy. A little Jesus therapy.
And as the shop settled into its new home, another nudge started stirring.
A Blowout, a Jericho March, and a Second Store
Cheryl kept driving past downtown Greenville, feeling something every time she turned onto Lee Street. She’d seen the area boom, then stall, then start again—like a story that keeps almost finishing its sentence.
During one move, she even joked with a landlord, “If that other space ever opens up, I want it.”
“That’ll never happen,” he said. “They’ll be there forever.”
You know how never tends to go.
Around the same time, a friend insisted on riding with Cheryl to a women’s conference. On the way down 35, going 70 miles an hour, Cheryl’s tire blew.
They pulled onto the shoulder. Traffic roared past. The hill in front of them meant cars were cresting and suddenly seeing her van. Roadside assistance put her on hold.
She’d never changed a tire by herself.
So she decided to do the next right thing.
“I knew where the wheel was. I knew where the jack was. I just did one thing and then the next thing,” she says.
By the time the tow service called back, she and her friend had already changed the tire, merged back onto the highway, and were on their way—late, but undeterred.
At the conference, the theme was enlisting in God’s army and learning to be a warrior. Cheryl couldn’t shake the connection.
“That whole tire situation was God showing me: you already have what you need inside you. You just have to do it.”
When she came home, she took a Jericho walk around the block that held the future Lee Street Mercantile—praying, listening, circling. Then she picked up the phone.
The doors began to open.
An inheritance provided the practical push she needed—a “wind at my back,” she calls it. The lease was signed. Bank accounts opened. Layouts were drawn (and redrawn). Licensing, inspections, economic development meetings—she did it all, often while still tweaking booths and layouts back at Vintage & Lace.
On July 14, she cut the ribbon on Lee Street Mercantile downtown.
At nearly the same time, that “never going to open up” neighboring space at Vintage & Lace became available too. So yes—she expanded one store while birthing another, all in one season.
“I’m not a natural manager of people,” Cheryl says with a grin. “I’m a hairdresser. I’m used to one-on-one. But every part of this journey has stretched and grown me—managing people, managing time, managing money. I just keep going back to what God said.”
Two Sister Shops, One Big Community
Today, between Vintage & Lace and Lee Street Mercantile, Cheryl’s model looks simple on the outside and deeply thoughtful underneath.
She rents space to locally owned businesses—55 of them at the moment. Some are makers with full-time jobs and young kids; some are pickers with an eye for estate treasures; some are artists and furniture refinishers; some carry pantry favorites like soups, car fresheners, skinny syrups, and more.
Vendors:
- Apply and are added to a wait list
- Are selected based on what they sell (Cheryl is careful not to oversaturate categories—no “20 booths of cups and T-shirts”)
- Bring in and style their own inventory
- Use the shared software to print their labels
- Refresh their space regularly
Cheryl and her team:
- Staff the store for those eight-hour days
- Handle the sales tax and city tax
- Market the shops
- Host events and seasonal promotions
- Create a consistent, welcoming experience
“For busy creatives, we take the hard part,” she explains. “They get to do the fun side—making, picking, styling—and we’re here holding the doors open.”
And though some vendors are in both stores, their spaces look different in each one. A wood engraver might display cutting boards on painted furniture in one location and hang them on old doors in the other. A maker might lean more cozy farmhouse at Vintage & Lace and more urban-farmhouse black-and-white at Lee Street.
Each shop has its own personality:
- Vintage & Lace – Cozy, carpeted, full of nooks and crannies. Think “curl up with a blanket” energy. A blend of antiques, primitives, gently used estate finds, boutique clothing, gifts, and home décor that feels like it could slide right into your favorite room.
- Lee Street Mercantile – Open, airy, and historic. The building itself carries the patina of old Greenville. More metal, black-and-white, and urban farmhouse textures. Still warm, still welcoming—just with a little more city edge.
In both places, the soundtrack is the same: upbeat Christian music, soft conversations, and the occasional laugh when someone realizes they’ve been singing along out loud.
Community Over Competition (55 Times Over)
If you hang out with Cheryl long enough, you’ll hear a phrase she loves from the Boutique Hub world:
Community over competition.
It’s not just a quote on a mug. It’s how she runs her stores.
There are other boutiques. Other antique malls. Other markets. And that’s okay.
“When we join together and build each other up, there’s enough for everyone,” she says. “I’m trying to promote not just Lee Street or Vintage & Lace, but Greenville as a whole.”
That’s why she’s intentional about calling her shops home to “locally owned businesses,” not “little hobbies.” It matters. It’s a reminder that when you pick up a candle, a pair of earrings, a soup mix, or a primitive sign, you’re touching someone’s courage—their side hustle, their dream, their ‘maybe this can help with Christmas this year.’
Running two shops in 2025 hasn’t been easy. This year has felt slow for many local businesses. Black Friday numbers didn’t hit the usual highs. It’s discouraging, she admits.
But then she goes back to the promise that carried her from that first lease in April 2020 to now.
“When you’ve done everything you can do, you stand. You have faith. You don’t get discouraged. You keep going.”
Why This Holiday Season Matters So Much
The holiday season is when small businesses feel it most. For makers, pickers, and shop owners, these weeks can be the difference between catching their breath or starting over.
Shoppers come searching for meaningful gifts — something personal, something that feels like it belongs.
At Vintage & Lace and Lee Street Mercantile, you’re not just visiting two stores. You’re supporting 55 locally owned businesses.
A teacher creating on weekends.
A picker hunting estate sales so you don’t have to.
An artist, a woodworker, a jewelry maker finding room to grow.
And if Cheryl has her way, you’ll find something else too:
A quiet moment of peace.
A tune you catch yourself humming.
Maybe even a little Jesus right when you need Him.
Plan Your Visit
If you’ve never stepped into either shop, here’s what Cheryl would tell you:
“You really have to experience them. There’s something made, something bought, something upcycled—something for everyone. Each store is its own little world, and it’s worth the 10-minute drive between them.”
Start at whichever is closer. Wander. Touch things. Let the music follow you down the aisles. Talk to the folks at the counter—they probably know a story about the person who made what you’re holding.
And when you step back out into the December air, you’ll leave with more than a shopping bag.
You’ll leave knowing you helped keep 55 locally owned businesses—55 neighbors—going a little longer.
You might even leave with a little more hope than you walked in with.
Just ask the woman who came in grieving and walked out holding a tiny reminder:
Everybody needs a little Jesus.
The Local Letter Holiday Note:
This month we’re highlighting places just like Cheryl’s—festive, faith-filled, locally owned spots where you can find gifts with stories attached. When you visit Vintage & Lace and Lee Street Mercantile, you’re not just checking names off a list. You’re investing in the heart of Greenville, one small joy at a time.