New boutique to open in Oregon District

A boutique called “Heart on 5th” is scheduled to open in about a month at 504 E. Fifth St. in the Oregon Historic District.

The boutique is the brainchild of Lena White of Oakwood and Brittany Smith of Vandalia, both Dayton-area natives who have lived in the Oregon District, and both graduates of Wright State University. The shop will open in 940 square feet of space that formerly housed Practice Yoga.

Heart on 5th will offer clothing for women and children, pillows, throws, fabrics, vintage furniture pieces, candles, incense, wall-hangings and other items, White said. Seating and coffee will be available.

“We want it to be a comfortable space, where people will want to hang out,” White said in a telephone interview today, Sept. 1. “We want to bring a new flavor to the Oregon District and to Dayton as a whole.”

Both business partners are photographers, and each has two young sons. The name of the shop is based in part on the experiences of Smith’s oldest son, who was born with congenital heart defects and underwent heart surgery shortly after birth, Smith writes on the shop’s web site.

Mike Martin, president of the Oregon District Business Association, said the new shop will “showcase the continuing success of the Oregon Business District and its ability to attract quality businesses who want to be in a unique, vibrant destination.”

The opening of the boutique marks a quick turnaround for the Oregon District storefront: Practice Yoga closed less than three weeks ago. The Oregon District also added a new restaurant earlier this summer — Corner Kitchen at East Fifth Street and Wayne Avenue, in space that formerly held Sloopy’s — and has seen significant expansions of two other restaurants, near that intersection, the Dublin Pub and Roost Modern Italian.

For more information, go to the Heart on 5th web page at hearton5th.com.

About the Author