By Craig Smith, Napa Valley Register
If you’ve wondered when the shops in First Street Napa would fill up, wonder no more – it’s happening now.
“We’re 70% leased,” said Andrew Mazotti of Zapolski Real Estate, “and 70% of those are locally owned.”
A number of new businesses are still under construction and interest in the property is high.
“We signed five new leases in just the last six weeks,” added Mazotti.
Some of the tenants will be nationally owned, which is important to create a good offering for locals.
“We’ll sign some national tenants, in order to create a good balance.”
The five most recent tenants to sign – Honey Whiskey boutique, Habituate Lifestyle + Interiors, Tay & Grace, I Elle and C’est La Paire – are all women-owned.
Some of those owners are young and/or new to retail, but they know what they are doing.
“These women are all professionals and we believe in them.
We’re proud to provide them an environment in which to succeed,” said Mazotti.
One of those five businesses is Honey Whiskey, owned by Alexis Macias, who is Latina and 23 years old. She describes Honey Whiskey as “a lifestyle, contemporary boutique.”
Macias believes that all women deserve to look their best.
She carries sizes from extra small to 3XL.
Honey Whiskey offers a variety of lines, including Lovestitch and Olive & Pique. She laughed and added that her other lines are a secret.
“You have to come in to see everything.” Her jewelry is handwoven by Soul Rebel in Berkeley, a black-owned LGBTQ business owned by artist Fred Lewis.
Macias has been into fashion since she was a little girl, shopping with her late Grandmother Rose.
“I loved to wear fancy dresses and would not leave the house without matching accessories as a child.”
Since starting her career, she’s worked in women’s clothing, from low- to high-end.
Honey Whiskey began as an online business, and thanks to Macias’s fashion eye and marketing/social media savvy, took off right away. She opened a brick and mortar location in Vallejo, and then COVID-19 hit.
“It wasn’t as vibrant as pre-pandemic, and I decided to look in Napa.”
She contacted First Street Napa and fell in love with the location and the approach the management team is taking.
If Macias looks familiar, you may have seen her in a TV commercial playing a harried mother, rushing through a grocery store and using a Fit Bit to pay.
She’s done a number of commercials and has had small parts in several movies, including “Wine Country.”
She loves acting, but fortunately for Napa women, loves fashion just as much.
Honey Whiskey is open every day except Tuesday.
Visit at 1300 First St., Suite 335 (near Compline) or at honeywhiskeyca.com. The phone number is 707-775-9233.
See you downtown!