New downtown gift shop sells LaGrange-focused souvenirs and more

Published 9:45 am Saturday, August 19, 2023

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If you missed it, there is a new store in down LaGrange. Southern Accents, located at 108 Main Street is a new gift shop just off The Square.

The new shop takes the place of the former The Mind Clothing store, which moved to online only in December.

Owners Jeff Wright and Will Titman also operate Tournesol, a gift shop located in Hillside.

“This is the third time since 2002 that we have had a business on Main Street. It was the home of Everyday Gourmet in 2002 and the original location of Tournesol in 2013 before its relocation to historic Hillside and now in 2023 as Southern Accents,” Wright said.

“We’ve witnessed tremendous growth in downtown LaGrange, especially on Main Street with the additions of Crave Cookies and Scoops. From seeing all the growth, we decided that the time was right to reopen a business in downtown LaGrange.”

Wright said Southern Accents is a sister store to Tournesol. The new shop is not intended to be a replacement or relocation for Tournesol as it will continue to operate at 612 Lincoln Street as it has for the past six years.

“The focus of Southern Accents is to capture some of the out-of-town visitors who might be here for Great Wolf, Hills and Dales or The Biblical History Center among other local tourist alterations in LaGrange. Local shoppers may not get the chance to make it to Hillside to Tournesol,” Wright said. “In the shop, visitors will find LaGrange-themed merchandise, including locally made jewelry, bath and body products, t-shirts and grab and go gifts.”

Wright said the new shop has about three local vendors and the rest of the merchandise are purchased. He also said as the opportunity arise they look to add in more local vendors to the shop.

Upon officially opening, Southern Accents has been met with a positive response.

“Having been in retail for 10 years now we thought we were reading the signs correctly that downtown needed a shop like Southern Accents and to have that confirmed by the great response has been very rewarding,” Wright said. “So far, Southern Accents has exceeded our expectations and that makes us happy because we love LaGrange and it’s beautiful, unique downtown.”