Meet Gretchen Davey-molina | Owner, Groovy Ghost Vintage

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gretchen Davey-molina and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gretchen, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Our entire business has been based off taking a risk. Both my husband and I had long term careers with a large corporation, and during Covid we took a look at our jobs and decided it wasn’t for us anymore. Steve had already been selling vintage and antiques for quite some time as a side hobby, but he knew he wanted to go into it full time. I decided to stay a little longer and finish my degree as our company was paying for it, and after I graduated with my Master’s, I jumped into the business with him full time as well. Deciding to open our own brick and mortar and expand outside of antique marketplace booths was probably the biggest risk in terms of cost. We knew we were good at what we did, but could we do it in a full footprint and make ends meet still? So far, a year in, and everything’s sailing along smoothly. Without risk, I’d probably still be at my old job, and while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t fully happy with my path there.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Groovy Ghost Vintage isn’t an average vintage shop. Yes, we have clothing, knick knacks, records… but there’s so much more to us than the merchandise. From day one, we’ve made a huge effort to be involved in our community and know our neighboring businesses. We shifted from a more professional, merchandized showcase on our Instagram, to silly videos of our day to day or whatever is on our minds. And people come in feeling more connected with us because of it. Ask us a year ago, did we think we’d have this connection with the community? Definitely not – we’ve been in business in the Orange Circle for years as anonymous vintage dealers. Now, we walk down the street and wave to someone or stop for a conversation nearly every time we need to run an errand or get a coffee. We’ve hosted events with other stores, sponsored local events, and know almost all our local surrounding businesses. I think it’s incredible we’ve become such a part of the Circle and strengthened relationships, rather than see everyone else as competition. We’re all in this together.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, I’m of course biased to the Orange Circle. A whole day can be easily spent here with all the stores and restaurants. We’d start with coffee, of course, at one of the many options. Just a light breakfast, maybe a pastry from L’Orange Cafe or Zocalo. Most antique stores open around 10am, so a few hours hitting the first couple of stores. The hard part is deciding what’s for lunch! But for newness sake and wanting to be able to showcase another restaurant for dinner, I’d say lunch at Wazabi Sushi or Finney’s. Then back into the vintage shops until dinner. Dinner is an easier choice – Bosscat Kitchen & Libations all the way. Between the menu and their staff, it’s easily our favorite restaurant.

The best part of this itinerary is it’s easy to rinse and repeat with other fabulous restaurants. The vintage and antique shops also tend to rotate inventory, so there’s always something to find!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We’d like to thank our friends and family for jumping into this business alongside us and supporting us in this venture. Without our friends, we probably wouldn’t have felt confident enough to open our own store. We’d also like to thank everyone who is a vendor in our store for taking the risk alongside us. And of course, our customers who keep us in business.

Website: https://groovyghostvintage.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/groovyghostvintage

Facebook: https://facebook.com/groovyghostvintage

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/groovy-ghost-vintage-orange

Image Credits
personal photo: Kristin Smetona c/o Orange Plaza Review
Store photos: William Wallace