After 13 years, Kansas City shop will close its final retail location
After more than a decade of brick-and-mortar retail in Kansas City, the home decor and gift shop RE: plans to close its Zona Rosa storefront later this summer.
The shop, founded in 2012 by Chrysalyn and Jeff Huff, will pivot toward a hybrid business model centered on online live sales, subscription offerings and seasonal events held at their farm in Olathe.
“The foot traffic just isn’t what it used to be, and while we have done everything we can to keep it going, it’s time for a new chapter,” Chrysalyn said in a social media video Monday. “This is not the end of RE: It is just the end of a particular season.”
RE:, originally called Restoration Emporium, started out as a West Bottoms shop centered on vintage items. It added home furnishings and gifts to its retail offerings and moved to the Country Club Plaza in 2017. The following year, the Huffs opened another location in the Crossroads.
The Plaza location closed in 2022. In 2023, RE: relocated from the Crossroads to 7420 NW 87th St. in Zona Rosa, a space formerly occupied by Alter’d State.
In their post Monday, the Huffs said they will “probably be open until the end of August” at Zona Rosa. They are building an in-home studio at their farmhouse to host live sales and other videos and are expanding RE: Bloom, their mobile floral bar.
In the coming weeks, the Zona Rosa location will host a closeout “End of the Eras Tour” sale, which will include not only merchandise but unique fixtures collected over the years from Europe and Round Top, Texas — pieces that were never for sale before.
The Huffs said they haven’t ruled out a return to physical retail, but probably only if it’s based in their hometown of Olathe. For now, they’re urging shoppers to support local businesses.
“Please shop small,” Chrysalyn said. “Support people in your community who have small businesses so we don’t have to sit and watch another announcement like this from another small business.”
