‘The godmother of the neighborhood’ is closing 30-year-old KC children’s store
Ann Michael — known by friends as “Annie” — can’t talk long about her children’s store closing before her eyes begin to glisten.
“I said I wasn’t going to cry today,” she said, brushing away tears during a Wednesday afternoon visit with The Star.
Annie’s, 841 W. 39th St., was filled with customers who’d likely seen the Facebook posts and rushed in. They draped as much gently used clothing on their arms as they could, scanning the racks for the right sizes.
Others were there just to see Michael before she closes the shop in December. The building will soon be sold, and at 65, Michael doesn’t see it as feasible to relocate the shop of 30 years.
The door chimed as Shawnta McClenton stepped through and approached the counter.
“I came here because I’ve seen the news,” she told Michael. “I saw it on Facebook. It’s just been going around and going around.”
Now 41, McClenton started coming to Annie’s at 17. At the time, she was a young mother who was worried about affording clothes for her infant. But Annie’s had all the onesies and socks she needed for a fraction of the cost.
Years later, she took temporary custody of her grandchildren and scrambled to find shoes that fit. So she came to Annie’s.
“We call her the godmother of the neighborhood,” said Cynthia Callier, another customer who’s brought her children — and now grandchildren — into the shop.
“The first time she came in here,” Michael added, looking at Callier, “She was walking down 39th Street with her little boy, and he didn’t want to walk, so she came in here and bought a stroller.”
Hearing this, Callier chuckled.
That stroller-less little boy is now a man living in Oregon, and he plans to call Michael soon to wish her well.
In a phone call a few days later, Michael told The Star she worries about the children in the neighborhood who won’t be able to find quality clothes for the same price.
“It’s devastating for me,” she said. “The hardest part is how many people have counted on this store, and a community that needs it will be hurting because they won’t be able to dress their kids.”
While there are other thrift stores in the area, Michael says hers is the cheapest nearby.
Pieces from Gap, Old Navy, Nike and other clothes are sold for anywhere from $2.99 to $12.99, though most are around $6.
But sometimes customers come in without the intention of buying anything at all. They’ll say “hello” to Michael and give updates on their lives. One jokingly called Michael her therapist.
“I have a personal relationship with my customers because I do care about their lives,” Michael said. “Your customers feel like you care — it makes a world of difference.”
Before Michael opened her store, she worked at the laundromat next door.
Children’s resale stores like Once Upon a Child were picking up steam in 1995, and Michael had plenty of leftover garments from her toddler. She figured she could turn her extra clothes into a business in the open space next to the laundry.
She spent the next year scouring garage sales for clothes, and Michael opened in 1996 — buying and selling garments for the neighborhood.
“From the day I opened, people came in, sold me clothes,” she said. “It just grew more than I ever expected.”
For some neighbors, selling clothes meant having just enough money to buy gas or diapers.
“There hasn’t been another one of these in this community that actually needs it,” Michael said. “They’re all out in the suburbs.”
For now, customers are flocking to Annie’s to buy shoes that are two sizes too big and jeans that won’t fit for another year.
Michael showed The Star a picture a customer and graphic designer had brought in. In it, a cartoon version of herself smiles and waves in front of her colorful shop along 39th.
“It’s my social life,” she said. “It’s the people I’m gonna miss. I didn’t realize the impact I had on people.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM.