Who was Louise?
Louise's is named for Lou Bloxom's grandmother, Louise Lankford.
Louise Lankford was Lou's maternal grandmother.
When Lou opened the shop, naming it for her grandmother felt right.
“One of the sassiest and classiest ladies I ever knew.”
How the shop started.
Lou taught elementary school for 38 years. After retiring, she was not looking to start a business.
Then one of the Eastern Shore's last women's clothing stores announced it was closing. Lou's husband told her she would be good at it. She laughed the first time. When he brought it up again two weeks later, she started thinking about it.
The store belonged to Lou's friend Jennie Cody. Pam Lloyd had managed it and agreed to stay. Lou kept customer favorites, including Tribal, added Habitat, redid the shop, and settled on a mix of clothing and gifts.
Inspired by Louise's style.
The old bank.
The building dates to about 1900. Over the years it has been a bank, a restaurant, a cable TV office, and a clothing store. You can still see where the vault stood, along with a patch of the original tile floor from when the road outside was dirt.
Come visit.
You'll find Louise's at 2 North Street in Onancock.