Fairly Local Outfitters: Main Street’s Newest Addition

Big Buzz Blog, December 2023

Main Street commerce is growing again with the addition of Fairly Local Outfitters, the second location of a successful store in Covington, LA. This men’s store will offer a variety of styles and tastes, fitting for both outdoor and professional ventures. 
 
- By Lisa Monti

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The old post office building at 137 Main Street in Bay St. Louis, long a gathering place where locals picked up their mail, bought stamps, and sent packages on their way, will open December 9 as a men’s store selling apparel and accessories with a distinct local flair.
 
Fairly Local Outfitters is the offshoot of the flagship store founded in Covington a year ago by Christy and Shane LeBlanc, business owners who enjoy traveling the world and learning about different cultures.
 

 
Shane, a New Orleans native, owns Selective Design, a custom infinity pool design and consulting business with customers across the Southeast and beyond.
 
On his extensive travels, Shane pieced together a wardrobe, exemplifying his signature look that was stylishly appropriate and didn’t say “tourist.”
 
“Wherever he went, he fit in like a local,” Christy said. “When people would ask him where he was from, he would say, I’m fairly local.”
 

 
During their travel, the LeBlancs noticed that there weren’t a lot of stores catering to men. After finding one on a trip to South Carolina, Christy got the idea for a new venture to fill the retail void in their hometown. She said to Shane, “I walked out of the store and said, ‘Covington doesn’t have a men’s store, and I think you’d be good at it.’”
 
The idea turned into Fairly Local Outfitters, which opened in Covington soon after. “When we dive in, we dive in,” Christy said of the new venture’s quick turnaround.
 

 
Fairly Local draws shoppers from the local market, around Louisiana, and across the Mississippi Coast who are looking for outdoor gear and items fitting for the boardroom. “It has been a blast, and we’re loving it,” Christy said.
 
Expanding their new business was on the table from the beginning. “When we started a year and a half ago, we made the decision to build multiple stores. We plan on expanding further.”
 
Customers in the Covington store helped choose where their second store should be, Christy said. “We asked them where we should open next, and so many said over and over, ‘You’ve got to go to Bay St. Louis.’”
 

 
Their own research favored opening in the Bay market, and when the post office building became available, the LeBlancs decided to move forward.
 
“We’re very excited about the building,” Christy said. “The old post office couldn’t be more perfect.” The building has parking spaces behind it, and they added space out front for golf carts. Walls have been added to the spacious interior of the building for shopping space, and the LeBlancs are considering using other corners of the building where Main Street shoppers can get coffee or grab-and-go food items. The large basement will also be available for future use.
 
The Main Street store will sell merchandise similar to what’s offered in Covington but more specific to Bay St. Louis. There will be outdoor attire for hunting, fishing, and boating, as well as business casual attire, accessories, and devices.
 

 
“In Covington, we may have a little bit more woodsy, hunting-type apparel. In Bay St. Louis, we will have more beachy-type items,” Christy said. Brands are constantly being added in Covington and will also be in the new store. The LeBlancs went to a men’s retail market in Austin recently to buy merchandise for next year.
 
The LeBlancs will be on hand to run things as they staff up the Bay store.
 
Hours will be Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. A grand opening will be held early next year.

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