Bath shop emerges from ashes
Palm Springs, CA – Brenda Barnes is a firm believer that good things can come out of tragedy.
Pampered Bath, dedicated to fine soaps and gifts, became an El Paseo “fixture” in 1985 when it opened as The Soap Opera. Barnes, a health care administrator who had retired to the desert, purchased the shop in July 2007 as its fourth owner. But in November last year, a fire destroyed the store, as well as several neighboring businesses.
“I was just gearing up for the season, and, in spite of the recession, we had built the business by 40 percent,” said Barnes. “I didn’t find out until 8 a.m. the next morning when someone called to say ‘Did you know your store burned down in the night?’ It was Friday the 13th.”
Barnes, who was underinsured, was allowed to keep the new inventory she had just ordered that, fortuitously, had been delivered to her home. The city pitched in by allowing Barnes to hold a 30-day sidewalk sale to sell off holiday merchandise in front of the burned-out store.
“My friends came to my aid and helped me in the sale. We had $7,000 product left that we donated to the Discovery Store in Rancho Mirage,” Barnes said. “This was such a feel-good situation, even in the midst of tragedy.”
