Six months after Painted Tree’s bankruptcy sent vendors packing, its former CEO is helping bring a strikingly similar business back to San Antonio.
Roughly six months ago, a business bust sent a ripple effect across the San Antonio small business market overnight, crushing the hearts of booth owners in a booming shopping center. But after Painted Tree folded, the short-lived CEO of the company rallied together market owners to revitalize the shop under a new name, and Collective Boutiques is taking over the same shop with a very similar business plan.
In April, Painted Tree sent an email to all its vendors across more than 60 stores, including the San Antonio location that boasted “hundreds of shops under one roof.” In an email obtained by MySA, the company confirmed it would no longer conduct sales at any of its locations, including 16 in Texas.
“I’m so sad to hear this,” one customer, Denise, responded to the news. “My pug and I enjoyed walking around at the San Antonio and Austin location. I’m so sorry to all the vendors and staff.”
A local vendor representing the San Antonio location warned this would send a shockwave through the small business community in San Antonio, especially with little to no advance warning from the failed parent company. Vendors booted from the old Park North shopping center site have begun cropping up around downtown and in brick-and-mortar locations around the city.
But for those who weren’t ready to take on a standalone store, a light has appeared at the end of the dark financial tunnel. The former CEO of Painted Tree, Melanie Greer, kicked off a new venture called Collective Boutiques alongside former Painted Tree vendors and investors. In San Antonio, one has opened at the former Painted Tree location in San Antonio at 522 NW Loop 410.
The new business isn’t much different from Painted Tree, calling on small crafters and sellers to lease out space in Collective Boutiques buildings — many of which, if not all, are buildings once occupied by Painted Tree — to sell their wares. Greer’s role in the new venture may draw scrutiny because she led Painted Tree before it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, she was appointed CEO less than a month before the filing.
“[Collective Boutiques] gives me a chance to showcase what I have as a designer,” Stefanie , owner of Happy Mama Design, told MySA, noting pop-ups are crucial to her business But this allows her store her inventory in once place. "It's a great place for people to experience small businesses wihtout having to go out in the heat or out in the elements." And there seems to be excitement over this new endeavor. Vendors and shoppers have crowded the comment sections about the new store opening, sharing in the excitement.
“We are so excited to be back in the space. It was like a family reunion... When we lost the space initially, it kind of was a gut punch for all of us. But San Antonio is all about community... that's what we do here. Everyone here is from the community," Tammy Martinez, owner of The Steeped Leaf Tea Lounge, told MySA.