Esther & Co. to close by end of the month

Esther & Co. will be closing its doors by the end of the month, leaving behind a five-year legacy of always supporting and promoting local producers.

In a Facebook post on Oct. 5, owner Regina Frahm said it is with extreme gratitude, humbleness and a lot of peace “that I have made the decision to close the current location of Esther & Company, LLC” by Nov. 1. Customers will still be able to purchase meat, yarn and notions from an online shop coming soon.

“Our family has a plan in the works to continue on, just in a different capacity,” Frahm said in the Facebook post. “Please stay tuned for what’s next. Being in this building and sharing it and the stories of all of our talented makers, bakers, vendors and farmers, with all of you, has been so much fun.”

But Frahm said it also is time to stop spreading herself so thin and focus on her sheep, the farm and her family, “and maybe selfishly my own health.” She went on to thank her friends, family, vendors and creatives who have stocked their products in the downtown Newton store since it first opened in 2019.

Esther & Co. occupied the renovated space once filled by the former sports bar, Scoreboard, at 122 N. Second Ave. W. The “modern day mercantile” was renovated by Newton Elite Properties and featured several products made by local farmers, crafters and creatives.

“When we re-did this building, we took the saddest building on the square and brought it back to life,” Frahm said in an interview. “That, I feel like, kickstarted some stuff. It’s like no matter how messy your bedroom is, if you mark the bed suddenly everything looks better. We met a lot of people, made a lot of friends.”

Frahm said it was a wonder she got any work done because she was constantly conversing with customers, not only educating them about the products they were browsing or purchasing but also establishing long-lasting relationships that made people want to regularly return to the store. And they did.

“Most days I don’t get anything done in here,” she said. “But we had a lot of great conversations. If they buy something, then that’s great.

“I’m going to miss the conversations.”

However, supporting local businesses takes commitment from the community. While there have been successful strides, Frahm suggested it is still an uphill battle to truly convince folks to buy local and to spend their money in their hometown stores whenever possible. Frahm has long preached this idea.

“You might pay a little more, but your money is going to stay here and support your town and it’s not being watered down through all these layers of management,” Frahm said. “That’s what people need to understand. And you have a better experience when you shop local.”

Maintaining a local business also means helping the community whenever possible. Being part of a community isn’t just about going to work, operating a business or going to school, Frahm said it is about investing yourself into other people. Esther & Co. has always strived to do that.

“It doesn’t do you any good to have anything if you’re not willing to share it with other people,” she said. “We all need to understand you have to reach out and do small things for people, because some day you’re going to need that seems like a small thing done that is going to make a world of difference later on.”

Esther & Co. set itself apart from its fellow downtown businesses not only with its offerings, but because Frahm said there were no preconceived notions or judgements, and the shop never wanted to compete but always complement its fellow stores around the town square.

“I hope that we taught people — business owners and community members alike — that not everything is a competition, that we are all here to support each other. I would encourage people to continue finding ways to support people locally, even if it’s buying your eggs from a farmer.”