Opening of new shop serves as hope in revitalizing downtown Brawley
BRAWLEY — While owner Victoria Reil on Tuesday celebrated the opening of her vintage furniture shop, the community also celebrated a sign of progress in the resurgence of the downtown area here.
Brawley Chamber of Commerce and city representatives, as well as Reil’s family, gathered outside Reil Vintage, 109 N. Eightt Street, to welcome the new business into the community with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony.
The small shop offers vintage furniture and home décor that has been hand-picked and refurbished by Reil. The store’s name derives from a play on words: real furniture and Reil.
Prior to the opening of Reil Vintage, the owner explained that, for the past seven years, she would find used furniture, bring it back to life through repairs then sell the pieces in her own garage sales as a hobby.
Just five months ago, Reil decided she would turn her hobby into her own personal business.
In the search of where her new shop would be located, Reil, a Brawley resident, believed it was important to support, and do business in, the city she lives in.
“I’m a strong believer that if you spend your money in your town, your town will grow,” she said. “I always ask, ‘Why do they go to San Diego and buy cars over there when they can buy them here? Why don’t they invest their money in their town?’ If you spend your money here, your money will stay here. You could see what’s going to happen to your money.”
Born in Mexicali and raised in Calipatria, Reil moved to Los Angeles once she turned 18 then lived the greater half of her adult life in San Diego.
Now a Brawley resident—as she moved here a year ago to care for her ill mother, who was alive and doing well during Tuesday’s ceremony—Reil promised that she discarded the San Diego prices on her pieces before crossing the Jacumba Mountains.
“My prices are very, very cheap and I want them like that because I know that what people get paid here is not what they get paid in San Diego,” she said.
Reil explained that, from working with the Chamber to working with the property owners, the process of opening her Eighth Street shop, which is located just across the Brawley Fire Department, as been very friendly.
In attendance during Tuesday’s ceremony, Brawley City Council member George A. Nava briefly shared his own experience in being a small local business owner.
“People sometimes don’t understand just how difficult that is,” Nava said. “From finding the location, to getting it situated, to promoting yourself and being successful, it’s hard. It’s not easy. So I applaud you for that.”
Nava also gave Reil and her family a warm welcome on behalf of the city council and city manager.
“I certainly appreciate you doing this in the city of Brawley,” he said. “I wish you a whole lot of success.” A representative of Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) presented Neil with a certificate, which commended her for her “commitment to stimulating business venture in the county of Imperial.”
Reil Vintage is now one four vintage or antique businesses operating the city’s downtown area.
“I think it helps, not only those who live here locally, but it also puts Brawley on the map to draw people from a little further out, to come into Brawley and doing their shopping for that style of furniture and home goods,” Chamber President Kathleen Lang said.
With the opening of Reil Vintage, Chamber Past President Ralph Fernandez enjoyed seeing another business open on Eighth Street, which is towards the back end of Main Street.
“We don’t have the shops as we do just down the way here,” Fernandez said. “There’s a little bit that are closed. I hate seeing empty buildings, so hopefully we’ll fill them all up soon.”
“I think that as shops open, it’s encouraging to be able to see people that are willing to take an obvious risk and open a shop in an area that is still experiencing that rebirth,” Lang added.
While Reil Vintage is neighbored to an empty, “For Rent” space, it also neighbored by the ever-growing Good Times Smoke Shop, which currently takes up two building spaces.
President Lang believed that seeing the small furniture shop open Tuesday indicates some economic growth for the city.
“Specifically to businesses and the economy of Brawley, this area is important,” Lang said. What was once vibrant is experiencing some rebuilding, or redirecting, and as the Brawley Chamber we hope to support every business that chooses to open in the Brawley community.”