Exciting Things Happening at The Purple Doorknob
Exciting Things Happening at the Purple Doorknob
The Local Sock Shop Looking to Open a New Door… Literally
Photos / The Purple Doorknob
For the past seven years, Nikki Himes has been a familiar face at the Purple Doorknob, most recently serving as store manager since 2020. Earlier this month, Purple Doorknob owners Rachel Northrup-McGee and Scotty McGee welcomed Himes to the team as co-owner! 2024 has already proven to be a big year for Ellicottville’s specialty sock destination, but the excitement isn’t limited to the 14731 zip code. Later this spring, the Purple Doorknob is opening a second location in the heart of Buffalo’s Elmwood Village, and Himes can’t wait to get started!
Himes’ journey with the Purple Doorknob began in 2017 when a friend who worked at the store one day a week let her know that she was going to be leaving. “I thought, ‘That sounds like a fun job,’ and she officially introduced Rachel and I, and I took over her position there when she left,” Himes recalled. In 2018, she expressed interest in working more hours at the store, and Northrup-McGee began involving her more in the business. “In 2020, Rachel was pregnant with her second child, and she wanted to have the opportunity to be home more once he was born,” Himes explained. “She and Scotty came to me and offered me the promotion [of store manager]!”
Since taking on the management position, Himes’ role includes ordering inventory (one of her favorite parts of the job, managing employees, handling schedules, and more. “Rachel, Scotty, and I have a lot of complementary strengths,” noted Himes. “It’s fun being on a team together. One of the things that I excel in is my organizational skills, and that works very well for ordering inventory. I really like that it is a combination of that and creativity, because it’s fun trying to find new products, guess what people will be into, and keep everything fresh.”
Himes’ new role as co-owner aligns perfectly with a long-time goal of Northrup-McGee and McGee - opening a second location. “My husband and I are planning to move to Buffalo this year,” said Himes. “I went to them with a lot of notice and shared our timeline… I said, ‘I might have to help you find a new manager before I leave, unless you think you might be interested in doing that second location. We started talking about that and the opportunity just worked out!”
The new store is located at 744 Elmwood Avenue in the former location of Campus WheelWorks across the street from SPoT Coffee. “It’s a great location,” said Himes. “It’s very close to Watson’s Chocolates, which is funny because we’re very close to Watson’s Chocolates in Ellicottville, too!” The Purple Doorknob team has a projected opening date later this spring, and in the meantime the team is hard at work making the space their own. “We have a very specific look,” Himes noted. “We’ve got a lot of painting and designing to do to get the vibe we’re looking for established.”
While Campus WheelWorks occupied two storefronts, Himes explained that the Purple Doorknob will only occupy one; however, she is thrilled that a popular Buffalo retail shop, Queen City Vintage, is going to be moving their store to the space next to 744 Elmwood. “They sell vintage clothing and accessories, but they specialize in sports-themed merchandise - vintage Bills and Sabres merchandise and clothing.” The store is a great complement to the Purple Doorknob, which began carrying Buffalo Bills socks last year - one of the store’s most popular items of late.
The new location provides the perfect opportunity to carry their customers’ favorites, as well as new brands they have not been able to carry in Ellicottville, due to proximity to other retailers who carry those brands. Pop culture-themed socks, snarky socks, holiday-themed socks, baby socks, kids socks, and more can all be found at the new location. “We’ll definitely want to keep what people love,” said Himes, speaking of the humorous socks they carry. “We love when people come in and walk around and actually laugh out loud to each other about something that they find!”
The response from the Purple Doorknob’s current customers has been overwhelmingly positive, said Himes. “People are excited about us being in Buffalo; that makes us more readily accessible for some of our customers who live there. We have posters hung up in the window saying that we’re coming soon, and while we’re there doing the work, it’s really cool seeing people walk by and take pictures of our sign. It seems like people are excited!”
For online shopping, customers can still visit www.purpledoorknob.com, but Himes noted that the Buffalo location will have its own social media account, as events and some products will differ from the Ellicottville location. Follow purpledoorknob.bflo to track the progress of the new location and their official opening date.