Tiffany Kimmell, a Panhandle native who moved to Pampa in 2013 for her husbands’ line of work. After moving to Pampa, Tiffany started her business in January of 2018 out of a 50-square-foot spot in her home. Five months later, Kimmell moved to an open space at the Pampa Mall.
“I’d never had a storefront before,” Kimmell said. “So we moved it from my house to the mall and stayed in that space from June up until December. A building opened up downtown and my husband said it would be a great spot for me. So for what I call my Valentines gift, he bought me the building and we moved in on February 14 of 2019. I told him after, I didn’t need flowers or anything for any other Valentine’s day.”
The store carries women’s clothing and accessories, in addition to children’s clothing. From the beginning in her new location, Kimmell had dreamed of opening a sweet shop in the store as well.
“I’d always had the dream of doing it,” Kimmell said. “I followed some boutiques similar to mine online and saw that a lot of them have a combined boutique and sweet shop. I always dreamed of doing it but wasn’t sure if it would ever be a reality.”
With worries about the economy and surviving the new addition, Kimmell put the idea on the back burner.
“We moved into this new building and there was so much space to fill, that I didn’t think the timing was right,” Kimmell said. “Then after Covid hit, I was unsure about how I’d survive, but once we did I realized that if we could make it through that, we can make it through everything.”
With the new addition of the sweet shop, Kimmell has stated that the inventory won’t decrease in the store or affect the number of options they carry.
“When we went all in, combining the sweet shop and boutique, I had to redesign my layout,” Kimmell said. “So I have worked different methods, but what’s worked best for the sake of keeping my store full of options, is extending the height of my clothes racks to hold more and still showcase all the options. We worked a way to offer the same size of inventory while giving up about a third of the store for the sweet shop.”
The sweet shop is an addition to the store, not a subtraction. The front will be the sweet shop with seating, and in warm weather outside seating will be set up, with the boutique in the back. The process of getting to the sweet shop has been a lengthy road. The first step was deciding what exactly she wanted to offer in the sweet shop.
“I decided on ice cream because it’s all American,” Kimmell said. “So once I decided on that, I wanted unique additions to the ice cream like the toppings and add-ons. Dallas Market, which I visit for my boutique often, has specialty food items that I went and hand selected for the sweet shop. I also decided I’d do baked goods as well, but baked goods that work in collaboration with ice cream. So like churros, brownies, or molten lava cakes. All things centered around ice cream, but can also be eaten on their own.”
Sweet T’s will be an official partner of Blue Bell Ice Cream. A company that is note-able to Texans, but there is a process of carrying their products in an establishment.
“When I had everything decided, my toppings and what all I would have, I knew I wanted Blue Bell as a vendor,” Kimmell said. “They are picky about who carries their products. So I talked with my Blue Bell rep and he took it to the people above him and they came back and said it sounded like a great idea and approved me to carry the product.”
The store will also begin carrying candy bouquets, a new project they will start offering a month or two after the official opening of the sweet shop.
“I hope this will become a place that family and friends come to gather,” Kimmell said. “We have all this seating inside, and we have a game board cabinet that I will fill up with more games before all is finished. I just want people to come and get a sweet or something to eat and then hang out with friends or family. I have put focus into our outside area too so people can sit out there in good weather as well.”
The sweet shop will officially open Saturday, April 1st which will be a busy day for downtown Pampa with 2 grand openings along with Sweet T’s official opening of their sweet shop.
“I am just so grateful to my customers and family for all the support,” Kimmell said. “But also to the businesses down here that have helped me out as well. I am excited for this new step in my business and have just big plans for everything that is still to come.”
With this new addition, the store will change its hours of operation to accommodate employees and customers.
“Starting April 1st, we will be opened Tuesday and Thursday from 11 to 8,” Kimbell said. “During the school year, we will be open 11 to 5, and in the summers it will be 11 to 8. But during school, I want them to be able to go to life groups. In the summer we want extended hours to serve customers in the sweet shop. It will change a little but we do plan to be open later with the addition of the sweet shop. Fridays we will be open from 11 to 10, and Saturday’s 10 to 10. There’s gonna be something new every week, limited edition ice creams or seasonal flavors of ice cream or shakes. We just want to have something unique to Pampa. We will have something for everyone here.”
Sweet T’s is located at 211 N. Cuyler and their Facebook page stays up to date on all things happening in the store.
