The Flying Pig Boutique, a fashionable clothing consignment store in Dolores, was awarded the 2021 Business of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce during its annual banquet.
“They help the community find a new wardrobe at reasonable prices,” said Chamber Director Susan Lisak. “They have kept their doors open during complicated times and are the hardest-working gals I know.”
The store has been a Dolores mainstay for more than 30 years, said co-owner Sandy Lauzon, and plans to be around for many more years.
“We are honored and eager to continue providing the best quality consigned inventory,” she said. “We’re not a thrift store, so it’s a choosy process on what we sell based on style, top condition and higher-end quality.”
Lauzon runs the store at 200 North Fourth Street with partners Debbie Casias and Diane Dorfer, along with employee Debbie Berger and volunteer Melissa Prentice.
It specializes in women’s apparel but also offers a men’s line. If items don’t sell in a certain amount of time, they are bumped to the discount area popular with customers. The store has had numerous locations over the years, and has stayed loyal to Dolores.
Selling merchandise on consignment is important for the store because it provides an economic opportunity for women to earn money, Lauzon said. Plus, staff members get access to the best designs for their own wardrobe.
“We like dressing in style and looking nice,” Lauzon said. “The camaraderie and friendship of all the women who have come through has been wonderful.”
As part of the consortium of local businesses known as the Fourth Street Girls, The Flying Pig takes pride in giving customers a quality choice to shop in Dolores.
“Come visit our corner and skip the big-box stores,” Lauzon said.
The Flying Pig was the genesis of the late Evie Bardeen, a well-loved fashion diva who created the consignment emporium with family and friends to make a living, but also as a community gathering place.
The prophetic backstory is when she told friends and family about moving out West from New York to start a consignment clothing store they responded “Sure, when pigs fly!”
“Pigs have been flying over Dolores now for 32 years,” Lauzon said to applause.
