Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many small businesses were forced to close in 2020. However, in Bryan-College Station, local support has helped maintain a lively small business scene. A shop that found continued success was the Bird’s Nest Gifts & Antiques in Downtown Bryan.
Chrissy Sayer co-owns the store along with her mother, Robin Kenney, and her aunt, Candace Scott, who realized their dream of owning an antique shop. Since its opening in 2015, Bird’s Nest has become a popular spot for avid antiquers.
Sayers said the interest in antiques began as a shared hobby between her and her mom.
“We would go to garage sales on weekends, and it was just something fun that we could do together,” Sayers said. “My mom was a registered nurse, and it was a good hobby where she was actually making money.”
The duo found success in five booth spaces across Texas, named “The Bird’s Nest”in reference to Kenney’s first name.
“When we decided to open a store, we had outgrown another booth space and needed to look for another place to sell our antiques, [that’s] when we found our store for sale downtown.” Sayers said. “We fell in love with the space.”
Sayer and Kenney teamed up with Scott to make the investment in the Downtown Bryan storefront.
“I had somehow convinced my family to take out this ginormous mortgage on this building,” Sayers said. “We were [kind of] living on a prayer there, but it worked out.”
In the past year, Sayers said the Bryan-College Station community has helped them get through temporary store closures.
“Even when we were closed, there was not one day that I did not go to work and sell something,” Sayers said. “Within those first couple weeks, we thought, ‘We’re gonna make it.’”
In the future, Sayers said she hopes to foster the growth of businesses in Downtown Bryan. The opening of their upstairs booth spaces in 2019 allows new people to enter the business world with support, Sayers said.
We wanted to offer up the opportunity like how we started out,” Sayers said. “We have 13 booths that are owned by local individuals. It’s like an incubator for small businesses.”
With the growth of the Bird’s Nest clientele, Sayers said she and her family realized they didn’t have the time to stock the store on their own since they work in the store daily.
“The people upstairs are not having to work the store, [they] just run their booths and find the items so we can sell them,” Sayers said. “We’re hoping they’ll open a store in Downtown Bryan.”
Kimberly Boyett operates one such booth specializing in handmade and custom home items.
“The goal was to empower, encourage and celebrate. Those are the three words we’ve tried to keep as the center point for the brand,” Boyett said. “If we have the opportunity to repurpose or reclaim old items and make them new, we absolutely love to do that.”
Part of the Boyett’s line are Texas A&M products, as she is a licensed retailer for the brand. She said A&M is a key part of her life.
“I bleed maroon … The A&M products were a passion product for me,” Boyett said. “I wanted to keep that homemade look but celebrate something that is central to my family’s life. It’s a university that we all hold very near and dear.”
Sayers said her family is passionate about small businesses, which is why they support their vendors like the Boyetts.
“That’s our goal, to help downtown grow and be a hotspot for shopping.” Sayers said.
Kenney also urged residents to consider shopping local, highlighting how it can positively affect the community and offer diverse goods to buyers.
“Stores like ours that are family owned and operated really make a difference to the community.” Kenney said. “It’s not the same-old, same-old everytime you come in. It’s always something different, handmade, one-of-a-kind, antique [and] vintage.”