Mama Bath + Body just sent out this announcement…

As Mama Bath + Body approaches its sixth retail store anniversary, its Decatur-based retail store will be moving down the street to a spacious storefront in downtown Avondale Estates at the end of May. And later this summer, the popular handmade soap shop will launch a second location in the newly developed Krog Street Market in the Old Fourth Ward.

Mama opened its flagship store on the outskirts of downtown Decatur in 2009 and has been growing slowly and steadily while looking for retail space number two in the intown Atlanta area.  But the right scenario — a small footprint with heavy foot traffic — didn’t present itself until Krog Street Market was announced last year. In the meantime, owner Emilie Sennebogen Bryant and her team focused on growing their wholesale business and Mama products can currently be found in over 80 stores in 25 states. But now they’re looking forward to expanding locally.

She never intended to open two stores in the same season, but once Krog Street Market became a reality, Sennebogen Bryant realized their tiny shop wouldn’t be able to accommodate the increase in manufacturing necessary to sustain two retail stores and their growing wholesale business. Moving their flagship store less than a mile down the street to a bigger space in downtown Avondale will not only give them more room to manufacture, but they’ll also have a bigger retail sales area, longer store hours and a dedicated classroom to accommodate their growing soap and candle making classes and DIY supplies. And as an added plus, downtown Avondale offers plenty of parking.

Across town, a 400 square foot stall in the Krog Street Market that will open later this summer will give Mama the well-traveled storefront that Sennebogen has been looking for in a second location. The new store’s small footprint will allow the company to focus exclusively on products and customer service and more specifically on consumer education, a big component of the company’s core mission. And they are in good company. Given the quality of the businesses who will occupy the market alongside Mama, Krog Street Market is certain to draw their ideal customer base; shoppers who will be looking for high quality, artisanal products that are made locally.

The Avondale store will have its grand opening event on Saturday, June 7th from 10am to 5pm. The first 30 shoppers will receive swag bags and all attendees can register to win a free soap class.  The new Krog Street store is slated to open late summer. For more information, visit www.loveyourmama.com.