Dana Bucci, the owner of Bluebird Consignment, located at 15 Catoonah Street recently received a certified letter from her landlord stating that she would be unable to renew her lease and would have to vacate the property in sixty days. “I’m devastated,” Bucci remarks. “I'm a 100% women-owned business in town, and have worked so hard to build this business.”
The reason? The landlord cited the outside of the building is needed for loading and parking due to the upcoming Main Street project. Bucci says she will give up the majority of her parking spots and accommodate the need for loading of any items. “I will even dilute my business and give up a portion of my store, I just want to stay in some capacity,” she says.
It was less than one year ago on November 14, 2020, when Bucci signed a one-year lease to bring her consignment shop and estate sale business to the iconic red building on Catoonah that had been vacant for five years after Ridgefield Thrift Shop moved to Governor Street.
The space was in need of repair but Bucci was up for the challenge. “I signed the lease and was told that if I could make it, I’d get the right of first refusal to stay for an additional three years,” Bucci continues, “I was determined to make it work so I invested my own money to renovate the space.”
Bluebird Estate Sales opened its doors on January 4, 2021. Bucci immediately connected with the community and made it her mission to give back. “After I hold an estate sale, items that are not sold are offered to Ridgefield Thrift Shop, the Housatonic Humanity ReStore, and local veterans,” says Bucci.
Did she make it? After eight months (during a pandemic) Bucci is thriving in her location and has built solid relationships with loyal customers who have come to rely on Bucci and Bluebird Estate Sales for quality recycled and repurposed items. “I feel like it’s home. People come in daily and tell me how grateful they are that I’m in town and how good this is for the community,” she says.
Bucci doesn’t want to leave 15 Catoonah in sixty days, move the thousands of items in her quaint consignment shop, and disappoint her customers. “We are all supposed to be supporting our small businesses here in town. It’s a hardship to have to get out of my building, the coming months are my busiest - and I have nowhere to go.”
If you know of space in Ridgefield that might make a great new home for Bluebird Estate Sales, please reach out to HamletHub. Small businesses matter - let’s show Dana Bucci how much.
“I want to thank the community for all of their support,” says Bucci.