Dot’s Gift Boutique, located at 111 W. Third St., Jamestown, offers on-point options for every occasion and personality. The new business held its ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday with elected officials and community organizational leaders joining owner Michelle McCray, with her sister, Julie Wootten, and daughter, Shannon Olson.

McCray said she has been planning on opening a gift shop boutique for awhile. She said outside of Bemus Point, there are no gift shop locations. For years she has traveled with her sister exploring new places and most importantly, shopping. With each trip, they found new favorite things that they’ve purchased for themselves and also gifted to loved ones. Seeing a need for a unique boutique locally, they embarked on a mission to give downtown Jamestown its own shop.

“There was basically nothing here,” she said. “We don’t want people to go to Erie.”

By bringing McCray’s daughter along for the adventure, she said they are showing that family is truly at the heart of the new venture. The mother, sister and daughter trio have been talking for years about opening their own business. Molding together very diverse backgrounds — careers that have spanned banking, hospitality and child welfare — the three entrepreneurs wanted to create a business that is meaningful and fun for not only themselves, but their customers. Dot’s offers a range of well-known and unique brands and designers — one-of-a-kind jewelry, hand-made accessories and an assortment of colorful household items that are designed for both form and function. Several of the business’ product lines support small business owners and also give back to charities.

Items you can find inside Dot’s Gift Boutique, located at 111 W. Third St., Jamestown. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

“We love shopping, and we love people,” she said.

The boutique is named for McCray’s and Wootten’s grandmother, Dorothy “Dot” Andrzejewski, who helped run a Fanny Farmer candy shop on the same city block across the street for more than 50 years ago.

“We feel she is watching over us,” she said.

The Jamestown Renaissance Corp. helped the business with funding through its Building and Business Improvement program, said Kristy Kathman, JRC deputy director. The Building and Business Improvement program funding can be used for facade improvements, storefronts and rehabilitation, upper-floor renovations and streetscape enhancements. The program’s goal is to partner with private property owners in making downtown buildings more beautiful and functional for modern uses.

The new business opened Oct. 30 and McCray said the response from the community has been overwhelming so far. She said the store is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

She added that following Thanksgiving, the store might have extended hours for the holiday shopping season.

For more information, contact Dot’s Gift Boutiques by calling 489-3003 or by going to its Facebook page.