For many, shopping in downtown Oakdale is often an adventure because you can find unique, carefully curated gifts and one of the stores that offers such gifts is Momma’s Closet. Owner Traci Codde opened the store on North First Avenue in Oakdale to honor her late mother, Barbara, as her momma always wanted to have an upscale vintage shop. Codde will be celebrating seven years in business at the Grand Reopening of Momma’s Closet from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19 and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20.
The recent store expansion included 12 new vendors and a much larger showroom, totaling almost 2,000 square feet filled with new and vintage items from dazzling jewelry to new, handcrafted headwear and aromatic candles. Codde also has a gallery wall which features hand painted gifts and shelves that contain wine glasses for the vino lover in the home amongst the many other treasures in the store.
During the expansion, Codde had some help completing the project as her father and brother were on hand to assist. For Codde and her family, honoring her momma’s desire to have a store like this is something that means so much to all of them. Codde’s father Norman Gilbert and brother Derek Gilbert installed new flooring for the entire store and Norman worked to restore many of the antique pieces of furniture in the store.
“My mom always wanted to have a store like this so to see my sister be able to do it, it means so much to all of us,” said Derek Gilbert.
Codde hosted a soft opening recently to highlight the recent expansion and she was delighted by the number of folks that stopped by to enjoy some wine and purchase some of the unique items within the store. Codde also hopes to include more furniture in the store as she has had quite a few customers purchase the antique pieces that her father Norman restored. For her this is more than a store, it is a lovingly crafted dedication to her late momma and she can’t wait to share many more years of unique gifts and magical memories with her friends and family in the community.
