Locally owned boutique opens at 135th and State Line

By Kady Cramer

Real Deals, a home décor and women’s fashion boutique franchise, opened at 1034 W 136th St. (near Target) on November 9 as the first storefront in Missouri. After two years of research into the franchise, owners Kim and Jason Jones took the plunge to open the doors to the unique shop.

“I walked into one of the Real Deal stores in Iowa about two years ago,” explains Kim. “I immediately fell in love with the store. I said to my husband that day that we needed to try to bring one of these to Kansas City.”

Relocating from Iowa, Kim and Jason have lived in the Kansas City area for the past 26 years. Jason works at Blue Valley North while Kim just recently left her 25-year career at Hallmark Cards to pursue her dream of opening the boutique. The pair have three children – Maddie, age 20; Sam, age 18 and Josie, age 15 – who will all be involved in helping run the store.

“What I loved most [about Real Deals] was that my daughters started shopping the clothing. I was shopping the home décor. I was loving the store, they were loving the store,” she says. “I really do love the cross generational aspect of it.”

Created in 2006 by a family of five sisters looking to provide customers with unique home decor at affordable prices, the franchise now has locally owned shops all across the United States.

“We crunched a lot of numbers and built a lot of spreadsheets,” says Kim. “I just kept getting drawn back to this area around Martin City because I feel like there are so few of these types of stores over here. So far, the area has been awesome.”

The boutique offers décor such as furniture, clocks, fine art, seasonal items, kitchen and bath – as well as women’s fashion and accessories. Apparel items include tops, jeans, sweaters, dresses, and jewelry. With inventory changing daily, customers are able to shop new items with every visit.

“We never buy really deep into something,” says Kim. “We want there to be a sense of discovery every time you stop in. Things turn over fast.”

Store hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit realdeals.net/martincity.