Kansas City gift shop in South Plaza to close after 37 years
The inside of Perfect Scents, a South Plaza greeting card shop, contains dozens of photographs (both framed and unframed) with captions of owner Nancy Pell’s family. For decades, she has liked looking at the memories and loved when customers would ask her questions about them.
But Pell’s storefront selling gifts, bath and body products, and perfume is closing this month. The building owner, who also owns Vet Plaza Animal Clinic, plans to expand the practice into Pell’s storefront.
“After over 37 years Nancy is hanging her hat up for the final time and Perfect Scents will be closing at the end of May,” Perfect Scents said in an Instagram post. “... Nancy will be getting to finally focus on her other passion, the best dill pickles you’ve ever had. Thank you for all the love and stories and we can’t wait to see you.”
“I knew was I was gonna have to close at some point,” Pell said. “So in a way, I’m kind of glad, because it’ll get me to retire, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have. I think that’s the best takeaway on it.”
Pell opened Perfect Scents in Westport in 1989 after seeing a friend in Florida open a shop with a similar concept. She later moved to the Plaza and then to the spot she has today, 5010 Main St.
“I have had (the shop) because I love it and I love the people,” Pell said, adding she loves what she sells, especially the perfume oils.
Several customers left comments sharing their favorite memories of visiting the shop.
One of them, jewelry maker Lauren Wright, has been selling her items in Pell’s store since 1991. In an Instagram post, Wright said Pell’s success wasn’t just from her chosen products, but from the genuine connections she formed with customers.
“What a remarkable legacy, indeed. Perfect Scents has been so much more than a beautiful shop. It has been a place of warmth, creativity, and community for decades,” Wright commented on an Instagram post. “That kind of longevity doesn’t happen by chance. It comes from Nancy’s incredible passion, dedication, and love for what she built and for the people she served.”
Pell chuckled when she thought of how happy her husband is to hear she is finally going to embrace retirement.
“I’m gonna do things that I haven’t done for a long time, make my little garden, I make dill pickles, and just see what it’s like to be retired,” she said.
Perfect Scents will stay open through May 30, and nearly all the items in the shop are half off. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
