Amira Shell, wellness manager at Weavers Way Co-op Next Door, adjacent to the Weavers Way grocery store in Chestnut Hill, greets customers. (Photo by Sue Ann Rybak)

by Sue Ann Rybak

Weavers Way Co-op opened its new wellness and beauty store at 8426 Germantown Ave. on Monday, Oct. 21. The store, called “Next Door,” is adjacent to the co-op’s Chestnut Hill location and is the former site of the Chestnut Hill Welcome Center.

Rebecca Torpie, Weavers Way’s marketing manager, said the decision to open the new health and wellness store was due in part to the success of Weavers Way's “Across the Way” at its Mt. Airy location.

Torpie said the 16 feet of wellness products that the Chestnut Hill store carried were selling really well.

“We realized there was a dearth of health and beauty shops in the area,” Torpie said.

She said the additional 950-square-foot-space, located directly next to the co-op's grocery store, was “the perfect size” to add a variety of local health and beauty products to their Chestnut Hill market.

“One of our top priorities for Next Door was finding and making local wellness and beauty purveyors visible and celebrated,” Torpie said.

Torpie said a lot of research went into finding “the highest quality, most natural products from the region.” She added that Weavers Way was excited to be Marvelous Mo & Me's first retail location.

Marvelous Mo & Me offers all natural lip balms, lotions, and scrubs and soaps.

“We've got some new products that you won't see anywhere else just yet – a line of non-toxic nail polishes –Hopscotch for kids and Scotch for adults – recyclable bamboo toothbrushes and a very well priced line of Ayurvedic-inspired skin and hair care products called VerialD,” Torpie said.

She said the co-op is “still working on perfecting the merchandising scheme, creating signage and working out tiny unforeseen kinks.”

Weavers Way plans to have a Grand Opening on Friday, Nov. 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. The community is invited to come out and meet local vendors who will be demonstrating their products. The event will also feature live music, food and a variety of free samples.

Torpie said the Grand Opening celebration is an opportunity for Weavers Way to “thank our members and shoppers and the Chestnut Hill community for their support during this really exciting time of growth for us.”