- November 23, 2024
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It was business as usual at Chez Aline in Fountain Square on East Granada this week, but as the signs in the window indicate, the unique boutique will soon be closing its doors.
Owner Aline Chance-Mollenkof started coming to Ormond Beach to visit her cousin who owned Anita’s Place, a smaller boutique located on East Granada, but closer to State Road A1A.
A realtor in Centreville, Virginia at the time, Chance-Mollenkof loved fashion and clothing, and was soon running Anita’s Place, something she would do for eight years until the opportunity to move into the larger shop at Fountain Square.
“I was tired of people calling me Anita,” Chance-Mollenkof laughed. “This store had more space and this (Fountain Square) is such a nice little enclave.”
She named the shop Chez Aline which translates to Aline’s Place.
Customized service and clothing not found in other local stores was the mission of the shop. It wasn’t unusual for the staff to ask a woman shopping for an evening dress where they would be wearing the dress. Chance-Mollenkof wanted her customers to feel special on their night out and not see anyone else in the same outfit.
The specialty of the shop is Mother of the Bride formal wear, and Chance-Mollenkof said it wasn’t unusual for customers to come from Orlando to shop in her store.
Originally from New Brunswick, Canada, Chance-Mollenkof also featured Canadian designer Joseph Rickkoff designs.
Chance-Mollenkof said it was important for her, as a business woman and a resident of Ormond Beach, to be involved in the community. During the past years she has sponsored a number of fashion shows to benefit organizations including children’s advocacy groups, The American Cancer Society, and the arts.
Her retirement will allow her to focus more on her family and to travel, especially to France and Canada.
“In school in New Brunswick my teacher insisted we learn Parisian French,” she said.
When asked what she wanted to see when she takes her first trip to France, she blushed and admitted, “the bakeries,” adding the other sites of Paris were also on her list.
A little closer to home, she said she also wants to see the parts of Canada she has never visited, preferably by train.
The shop is scheduled to close at the end of May, but Chance-Mollenkoff is already thinking about the future.
“I told my husband if I miss it too much I reserve the right to go up the street and reopen,” she laughed.
