At Nickels Arcade, the upshot is: Beagle Brain moved and downsized, Johnny closed, and Wendy stayed put, but here’s the more complicated backstory.
Wendy clothing store had briefly split into two stores in Nickels Arcade, with Wendy Chapman’s partner, Johnny Vaughn, naming the second store Johnny. Johnny wanted to experiment with slightly edgier merchandise, while Wendy stuck with the safer Eileen Fisher brand. Now Johnny the store is gone, and Wendy the store remains. But, confusingly, it seems that Wendy the person is gone, while Johnny the person now owns the business.
Maureen Lynch, Johnny’s buyer and assistant manager, has been with him “since we both worked at the Gap in Briarwood in 2006.” With Johnny out of town following the death of a close family member, she explained the changes. Wendy, whose husband died a few years ago, remarried and is leaving town, and Johnny was happy to buy her out. Meanwhile, Johnny’s lease on his self-named store was up, and Beagle Brain, on the corner, wanted it so it could downsize. Beagle Brain has now moved into the old Johnny. It no longer sells computer accessories and is devoting itself to computer service and repairs.
Johnny toyed with the idea of taking the large, now empty Beagle Brain space, but decided to consolidate everything to the original Wendy store. Lynch says he’s also planning on keeping the name.
Wendy, 5 Nickels Arcade, 327-9001. Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. noon-5 p.m.
