The Little Merchant part of the community
Talking shop with Michele Buonocore, owner of The Little Merchant in Bonita Springs. The store sells children’s clothing, accessories and toys.
“We are part of this community. We’re not corporate,” said Buonocore. “This is who we are, after 35 years through three recessions.”
The Little Merchant is at The Promenade, 26811 South Bay Drive in Bonita Springs. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Call 992-6480.
How long have you been in business?
This September will be four years for The Little Merchant. I also own three full-fledged paper gift stores called The Paper Merchant – one in Bonita and two in Naples.
At the Paper Merchant we always had children’s toys and invitations. People really liked what we had and we decided to open our own children’s store in Bonita. It was well received, but in these hard financial times right now I find that people are not as quick to spend on clothing. So I’ve decided to focus more on toys, books, gifts and fewer outfits.
