Northern Lilly moves into downtown Palmer

PALMER—The Garden Gate boutique and gift shop closed down recently. Another local boutique and gift shop, The Northern Lilly, has taken its place in downtown Palmer.

“We’ve had quite a few people come in and go, ‘oh, this isn’t Garden Gate.’ Well right no, it’s just a bunch of Christmas,” Northern Lilly owner Kelly McKay-Dolfi said.

Those walking into Northern Lilly will immediately feel like they stepped into the North Pole. There’s even a Christmas countdown sign at the entrance. On Nov. 18, the sign said there’s 37 days left until “Santa comes in.”

“It’s fun. I love Christmas,” McKay-Dolfi said.

Despite the whiteout snow conditions on Nov. 16, a lot of shoppers cycled through the store for the grand opening and open house, according to McKay-Dolfi. She said that until the holidays are over, the store is going to be very Christmas oriented.

“A lot more Christmas this year,” McKay-Dolfi said with a laugh. “We won’t be totally normal Lilly until January.”

During the grand opening, the Grinch made a special appearance, “wreaking havoc” on the customers akin to Jim Carey’s silly antics from the 2000 film adaption, according to McKay-Dolfi. She said the local Grinch got really into the role and had a blast doing it. She noted the Grinch will return on Dec. 7 and for Colony Christmas.

“It was great,” McKay-Dolfi said with a laugh.

McKay-Dolfi said she got “cleaned out” during the grand opening but she ordered more clothes which are on their way. She said they sell clothes for the whole family.

She said Northern Lilly will participate in Small Business Saturday but “nothing too crazy.” She said they’ll have “pull your own discount” cards onsite for customers.

This Palmer shop is McKay-Dolfi’s second Northern Lilly location. The other one is inside the Creekside Plaza in Wasilla. She also owns the Whimsy Gift Shoppe inside the Kolosky Building, which is just a couple blocks down from her new shop. So, she has two stores on Palmer’s main business strip.

“Downtown Palmer, any location the strip is a great location. It’s a nice open spot for us, especially with the clothing,” McKay-Dolfi said.

McKay-Dolfi said the Wasilla location is more of a fusion of Whimsy’s unique gifts and toys and Northern Lilly’s clothing. She said the space is “long and narrow” there but the Palmer store has plenty of room.

“You gotta’ have room” McKay-Dolfi said.

McKay-Dolfi has lived in Palmer since 1978. It’s where she grew up and it’s where her children grew up. It’s home. She said it’s a great place to run a small business. She said that as the holiday season rolls in, it really starts to feel like a “Hallmark Town.”

“The community in Palmer is very supportive… very walkable, very friendly,” McKay-Dolfi said.

Northern Lilly is located at 810 S. Colony Way in Palmer.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com