Much More Than Just Brick and Mortar By Vicky Moon

By Vicky Moon

PHOTOS BY MIDDLEBURG PHOTO

Photo Ben and Tara Wegdam are stepping up with a new shop in Middleburg.

Photos by Middleburg

It’s a long way from The Hague in the Netherlands to the main street of Middleburg, but that’s how the journey to retail success began for entrepreneurs Tara and Ben Wegdam, with more to come.

The founders and owners of Crème de la Crème, loulou and zest in Middleburg, with shops in 24 additional locations on the East Coast, are about to open a fourth business in the village. It’s called Brick and Mortar and will be located in the old Southern States building on the west end of town.

“We found that products for home, entertainment and a strong sense of local will be required ingredients to be successful in brick and mortar retail going forward,” Ben Wegdam said of the new venture. “This is how we came to naming it Brick and Mortar.

“Think of it as a collection of products that each have a story to tell, that are unique and create conversation. Brick and Mortar takes a new approach by encouraging customers to not just shop, but to genuinely engage and be entertained in a traditional retail store.”

Brick and Mortar’s first location opened in Leesburg about two years ago. Wegdam said the shop tries “to tell a story with our merchandise, our non-clickable interactions and our in-store entertainment, such as a piano, parakeets, live music and writers’ talks. We’re also applying for an ABC license and might even open up a beer once in a while.”

Ben and Tara Wegdam have plenty of bricks and mortar to work with for new shop on West Washington Street.

The new Middleburg shop will include a mix of well known national fashion brands, home accents, books and gifts, with a distinct touch of humor.

“All the products we sell have something you can talk about,” Ben Wegdam said. “Whether it’s American made, different, unique or naughty. We believe brick and mortar retail can only survive when you provide an entertaining experience.” Both Ben and Tara’s parents were in retail. Tara is a native of Nashville, where her folks had boutique stores. Ben’s father worked in the grocery industry in the Netherlands.

The couple met in Europe at the end of their college years and opened their first retail store in 1992 in The Hague. Tara ran that store for eight years while Ben was working for Dutch food retailer Ahold, which also now owns Giant Food Stores, Stop & Shop and other businesses in the U.S.

Ahold transferred Ben to Virginia and, he said, “We packed up our store in a container and unpacked it a couple of months later on Madison Street (in the building currently housing Salon 17). This was Crème de la Crème’s first localion.

“With the generosity of local customers, we were able to grow Crème de la Crème and ultimately moved to our current location on Washington Street,” Ben said. “In 2002 we opened a store up the street from Crème, carrying ladies clothing, and called it loulou (now zest). Soon we found out that accessories were selling better than clothing, so we opened loulou too, in its current location.”

Like many other businesses, the COVID crisis has had a significant impact and they’ve had to adjust. The rise of on-line sales in recent years and the now year-long pandemic forced them to close 10 of the loulou locations this past year and go through a reorganization of the loulou format.

And now, here comes Brick and Mortar. The Wegdams recently got approval from the town’s historic review board to paint the outside of the building and to do necessary renovations on the inside, the better to adhere to their retail philosophy.

So, now, they currently have the four shops in Middleburg, one in Leesburg and another in Frederick, Maryland.

“All of our formats will be focusing on going back to becoming a local destination,” Ben Wegdam said. “Carrying local products and run by people who care about the community where they work.”

Brick & Mortar Mercantile 34 S. King Street Leesburg, VA 20175 Brick & Mortar Mercantile 29 E. Patrick Street Frederick, MD 21701 Brick & Mortar Mercantile 201 W. Washington Street Middleburg, VA 20117 Loulou 18 E. Washington St. Middleburg, VA 20117 zest 9 East Washington St. Middleburg, VA 20117 Crème de la Crème

23 East Washington St. Middleburg, VA 20117 For further information go to: justbrickandmortar.com.