Ypsilanti women’s retailer to open second location in Ann Arbor

Nickels Arcade is about to get Mix-ed up — in a good way. Ypsilanti's popular women's clothing and accessories shop is opening a second location in the former home of Beagle Brain.  "It was sort of a no brainer," says Leslie Leland, who owns Mix with business partner Bonnie Penet. "We discovered the space at Nickels Arcade was open and we just loved the ambiance of that location, and it's historic nature. We thought t would be an absolutely fabulous fit for our clothes." Renovations to the 850 square foot shop are now underway. Most of the work is focused on creating Mix's unique lighting. The Ann Arbor location will be a third of the size of the original Mix, which opened about four and half years ago. The two stories will carry similar "mixes" of new and second-hand clothing and accessories, with enough variety to make visits to both stores worthwhile.  "The similarity will be in the clothing that we carry, which is really artistically chic," Leland says. "We're in New York [at a trade show] right now and we've added some incredibly exciting clothing to our line."  The new Mix store is slated to open in June. The store currently employs a staff of five part-time workers. Penet and Leland plan to staff the shop themselves in the beginning and add staff as needed.  Source: Bonnie Penet and Leslie Leland, Mix Writer: Natalie Burg