- By -Staff
- Business & Technology
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The Sheikhs celebrate their latest business opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony today (Friday, May 8, 2009 at 12:00 p.m.). Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson is scheduled to attend the ceremony, and the public is invited.
The Sheikh’s say they chose to open Ithacards because it fills a niche not currently being served in downtown Ithaca. They describe Ithacards as “paper with panache for people who care to do more than just hit the send button.” Ithacards features a wide selection of top of the line greeting cards, as well as gift-wrap, ribbons, invitations, journals, diaries, thank-you notes, and printable stationery.
The Sheikh’s are also the owners of the House of Shalimar, which is located next to Ithacards at 142 The Commons, and T-Shirt Express at 210 The Commons. They’ve been in business in downtown Ithaca since 1973 and according to Emma Lou Sheikh, have always found it to be a vital and viable business district. She says, “In those 36 years, we’ve always tried to respond to the needs of our customers. Ithacards is our response to the many comments our customers at House of Shalimar and T-Shirt Express have made to us. There hasn’t been a card shop in downtown Ithaca since we closed Shalimar Bazaar seven years ago. Now there is.”
House of Shalimar opened on East State Street in 1973 and it carries the distinction of being one of downtown’s longest running businesses. Their first year in downtown was also the year that East State Street was under construction and being converted into the Commons. Downtown Ithaca’s House of Shalimar was actually an expansion of the original House of Shalimar, which was located in Ithaca’s Collegetown. The Sheikh’s entrepreneurial spirit also led them to expand House of Shalimar to the Pyramid Mall, where the store successfully operated from the mid 70s to mid 80s.
The Sheikh’s opened T-Shirt Express when they realized there was a large market for a t-shirt store in downtown. T-Shirt Express is known for offering Ithaca’s widest selection of collegiate shirts, fleeces, hoodies, and other outerwear. It’s selection of “Ithaca is Gorges” t-shirts has been seen and worn around the world.
The manager of the downtown House of Shalimar once suggested to the Sheikh’s that downtown needed a store offering “club wear.” The Sheikh’s listened and opened Evolution at 102 The Commons. The manager was Katie Spallone, who later purchased Evolution from the Sheikh’s and in late 2007, opened Avanti! which is her second downtown Ithaca business.
The Ithacards ribbon cutting on Friday, May 8, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. will kick off a week of activities that also includes gifts for every shopper that makes a purchase and opportunities for shoppers to receive free cards every month for a year.
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