By ALEXANDREA
BAILEY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.
A new shop opened up this summer in Port Isabel by the lighthouse, in the storefront formerly known as Alchemaille, which has relocated to the outdoor vendor portion of the square’s shopping center.
The new shop named Bohemia brings a fresh new vibe to the area, but what makes it really special is the fact that its owner is only 17 years old.
Natalia Landaverde, a highschool junior and current valedictorian of her class, is the young woman behind Bohemia with the help of her mother, Silvia Landaverde. They moved to the Lower Laguna Madre from El Salvador three years ago.
Natalia Landaverde’s aunt owns three shops similar to Bohemia in Central America. As a child, she spent much time in her aunt’s shops, which inspired her to open her own in America.
“During the summers I would go and work with my aunt,” said Natalia Landaverde. “My aunt gave me the idea.”
According to her, things moved fast in regards to the opening of Bohemia. Her aunt had given her the idea to open her own shop a month prior to the beginning of summer, and two months later, Bohemia was opening its doors.
After the idea of opening the shop had been planted, the mother-daughter duo began searching for a location.
“We would always come to the shop next door. They know me. I am a frequent client there. I am always buying crystals and stuff,” said Natalia Landaverde. “We were walking by and we saw this spot and it had no info, but we saw that it was empty. So, we asked around the neighbors and they gave us the contact info and we called.”
The owner of the building initially did not want to rent the location out, but after she and her mother explained to him their plan, he “loved it” and agreed to rent them the location, according to Natalia Landaverde, but much work was still left to be done.
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