South Iowa Street scuttlebutt: National fabric store to locate in Lawrence, boutique changes focus, chain restaurant set to open

Let’s get caught up on some south Iowa Street scuttlebutt . . .

• As a man who lives in a family with quilters, I can tell you there is some sewing table gossip that will get you a needle in the nose if you repeat it. But I think I can safely report this, and technically it is not gossip anymore: Lawrence soon will have another national fabric store chain as part of its retail mix.

For weeks, I’ve been reporting on speculation that Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts was going to locate at 27th and Iowa streets in the location of the now defunct Hancock Fabrics store. Well, that speculation ended up being accurate. Jo-Ann has put up a “coming soon” sign at the location, and construction work is underway.

We’ll see what type of store it ends up being. Jo-Ann seems to be a chain that is a bit broader in scope than Hancock’s was. According to its website, Jo-Ann stocks not only fabric and sewing supplies but also scrapbooking materials, art and painting supplies, jewelry-making accessories, baking and party needs and several other categories.

No word yet on when the store may open, but I would guess certainly before the Christmas holiday shopping season.

• A shop just a couple doors down from the future Jo-Ann location is undergoing some significant changes. The boutique Sweet Tea and Caviar is remaking itself from a store that focused on women’s clothing — particularly college-branded clothing — to a store that now focuses on baby items.

Owner Leslie Stauffer said the store always had a small section of baby items, but customers started asking for more after the downtown baby store retailer Blue Dandelion closed. But the biggest factor in the store’s change was that Stauffer became a mother about five months ago.

“About 98 percent of the decision was based on me becoming a mom,” Stauffer said. “I was ordering everything online and I didn’t get to feel and touch the items before I ordered.”

The store will carry a lot of baby clothing, but also will have baby gift items and practical baby care needs. For example, the store carries something called a FeverFrida, which is a product that uses a small Bluetooth patch that can take a baby’s temperature. The patch goes under the arm and can stay there all night. The patch takes the temperature and alerts your phone when the temperature rises above a certain level. The benefit, Stauffer said, is that parents don’t have to wake their sick children to take their temperatures.

The store also carries items such as high-tech baby soothers that emit a sound similar to what babies heard in the womb. (What I want to know is what baby came out of the womb with a pad full of notes on womb sounds.) The store also has a wellness spray that helps pregnant women with issues of nausea.

“We are all baby, but we also have a little bit for mom too,” Stauffer said.

The store has been closed for the last several days to transform its inventory. The shop, located at 2108 W. 27th Street, is set to reopen at 10 a.m. Saturday.

• I feel like this column has been a bit girly today. So, I’ve been searching of news for a south Iowa Street tractor pull to get the testosterone levels in balance. I did not find one, but perhaps news of a restaurant that lets you throw peanut shells on the floor, has lots of Lone Star items, and serves hunks of red meat the size of your face will help.

We’ve been reporting for awhile that work appears to be wrapping up on the new Texas Roadhouse restaurant at 2329 Iowa St. Well, I still don’t have word of an official opening date, but I’ve got a good sign that it is probably next week.

I know that Texas Roadhouse is hosting an invitation-only event at the restaurant this weekend. Those events are common for new restaurants because it helps them control the crowd and get their staffs trained for the official opening. Usually, those events happen just a few days before the opening, so I would expect the restaurant to open sometime next week. I’m still reaching out to the restaurant. I’ll let you know if I hear a specific date.

• For what it is worth, I’m still hearing speculation that Men’s Warehouse plans to locate along south Iowa Street. I think the most likely location for the shop is in the strip center near 33rd and Iowa streets. That is the one that is in the parking lot of Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohl’s and other retailers in the Pine Ridge Plaza. There is a significant amount of vacant space a bit south of the Jason’s Deli location. But, I still have no official word from the retailer, which sells suits and other men’s clothing.

• One other retailer to keep an eye on is Office Depot. In the last few days, Office Depot has announced it plans to close another 300 stores in the next three years. It has not released a list of store closings, however. Office Depot has about 1,800 stores worldwide.

Lawrence doesn’t exactly have a plethora of office supply stores, and I’ve heard nothing specifically about the Lawrence Office Depot store, which is at 25th and Iowa streets. But I pass it along in case you want to start hoarding paper clips and Scotch tape now.