Anne Feist stands behind the front counter of her recently opened store in Wells, The Next Chapter Consignment Boutique.

When asked why she made the decision to open a new consignment store in Wells, one of the reasons Anne Feist gave was her love for her hometown.

Anne grew up in Wells where her father, Ray Bidne, was a long-time barber.

Anne officially opened her store, The Next Chapter Consignment Boutique, on Tuesday, Sept. 8 after having a soft opening for her family and friends on Labor Day, Sept. 7.

And like the name of her store suggests, it is the next chapter in Anne’s life.

“I just retired from teaching after 36 years in that profession,” Anne comments. “Most of it was spent in the middle school and elementary grades.”

Although she was retiring from teaching, Anne still possesses a strong desire to stay busy.

“I don’t want a full-time job,” she explains. “And I wanted it to be something fun.”

Her store is located at 147 South Broadway, right next to The Pink Cup.

“This space became available to rent,” Anne says. “It is a great space. I love the history of the building – it was once a furniture store – and it fits my aesthetic. I had looked at a couple of other locations but this is the one I really liked.”

Being located in the shopping district of Wells is important to Anne.

“I like that there is retail downtown and I think it is important,” Anne states. “I would like to help rejuvenate what is our Main Street.”

Anne obtained the building in July.

“I was fortunate that Bair Hardwood Floors happened to have an opening and were able to come right away to sand and refinish the floors,” Anne remarks. “We normally do everything ourselves but when my husband Rick saw how high the walls were (14 feet), he suggested we hire the painting done.”

And just like the flooring people, the painters were also able to come right away.

“I am a Christian and I feel like it was part of God’s plan,” Anne says. “Every time I thought a door was closed, it opened. It happened with the floors, the painting and the racks and mannequins we were able to obtain.”

Anne admits that opening a clothing store wasn’t necessarily her first choice.

“A friend of mine and I had talked for a couple of years about opening a coffee shop,” Anne comments. “But it just did not work out.”

So she changed her focus.

“I have always liked clothing stores,” Anne admits. “I was inspired by a couple of stores I was familiar with in Albert Lea.”

The Next Chapter Consignment Boutique features a curated collection of trendy and stylish men’s and women’s seasonal clothing, shoes and accessories. Sizes for men range from young mens to 2X. Women’s clothing sizes are available from extra-small to 3X with shoe sizes 6-11 available in athletic or dressy styles.

“We are open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” Anne shares. “Our hours on Tuesday through Thursday match the hours of the thrift store in town and we are open a little longer on Saturday. We wanted to have the same hours so people could plan a day to shop when they could visit both stores.”

It appears to have been a good strategy.

“We have had customers from all the surrounding towns,” Anne reports. “And it has been nice to have the support of the Wells community.”

According to Anne, the way it works at The Next Chapter Consignment Boutique is people make an appointment (called an intake appointment) to drop off their items. Anne goes through the items and decides what she thinks will sell at her store. She will keep them displayed for 90 days. If they haven’t sold after the first 60 days, the price of the items is reduced by 50 percent for the last 30 days.

“People can pick up their cash or take store credit at the end of the 90 days. It is a 50-50 split,” Anne says. “They can take home what doesn’t sell or the item(s) can be donated to the thrift store in town.”

Currently, The Next Chapter Consignment Boutique accepts cash and Venmo.

“We do have a point of sale system coming,” Anne states. “When that is in place we will be able to take credit cards.”

There is still plenty of things for Anne to do on the days when the store is not open to customers.

“There are always errands to run,” she comments. “There is also bookkeeping and cleaning.”

Right now Anne shares her goal is just to maintain what she has.

“I do love to re-purpose things,” she admits. “The counter at the front of the store used to belong to a guy who was an auto mechanic. He had to clean the oil out of the drawers.”

Anne says she is enjoying the pace of owning her own business

“I am the only employee,” she comments. “But I have friends who have volunteered to help if I have to be gone.”

Then there is the best part.

“Seeing people every day was one of the things I enjoyed about being a teacher,” Anne says. “So I love seeing the people everyday when I am in the store and appreciate being able to interact with them. An added bonus is that having the store has provided me with the opportunity to see some of my former students. That is kind of neat.”