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SWoCo residents enjoy the open house in the Plantagenet Rose store during West Village

This weekend was a busy one for many businesses and business owners in the SWoCo area who held open houses, equipped with door prizes, refreshments, free massages, and of course discounts!

On Friday, Dec. 5 West Village held their holiday open house which included cooperation from ten stores. The open house was held from 5 to 8 p.m. and included cooperation from Robin House, Daily Grind, Studio 419, Annie Moore's Pub, Kathy's Boutique, Baylee's Best Chocolate, The Optical Shop, Henri Kessler Furs & Outerwear, Plantagenet Rose, and Vivendi.

Carl Rosen, owner of Henri Kessler Furs & Outerwear said, "There is no other shopping center in Roanoke that caters to women like this one does. It's a great place. I feel fortunate to be here."

"The open house was Gwenda B. Kellett's, owner of Plantgenet Rose, idea for the holidays. When she came to me with the idea I though, 'If it was Gwenda's idea, it was a good idea- it had to be'. We are a shopping center and a community. And we've had more people come in."

Robin Dearing, owner of Robin House thought the open house was a great idea too.

"We had good business today and during the daytime the crowd was steady," she said. "I thought it was a good idea and we did it for solidarity and support of Gwenda."

Gwenda B. Kellet, the master mind behind the holiday open house idea at West Village has been doing a holiday open house for eight Christmas's.

"I have always had an open house the first week of December," she said in her shop filled with guests. "It's been steady. It's the 6th Christmas that Baylee's Best Chocolate has been making chocolates for my open house."

Kathy Grosvenor, owner of Kathy's Boutique said, "We've had a good time and the open house brings a lot of people in. Everyone is coming in Christmasy and in a good mood. I'm hoping to have this every year."

We have a photo gallery from the open house at West Village.

Azario Salon & Day Spa open house. Emily Flora SWoCo

Open House at Azario

Azario Salon & Day Spa held their open house on Sunday, Dec. 7 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Azario's was packed with people as they gave away door prizes, offered up refreshments, mingled, and gave free massages to anyone interested.

Zena Azar, owner of Azario Salon & Day Spa for about 8 years said, "We did the open house to say thank you to my customers because without them we wouldn't be here. It's been going well. The crowd has been steady in and out."

The manager of the Azario School and Aesthetic and Cosmetology instructor was also present for the open house. The school opened in March and has already graduated one group of students.

"The school is going very well," Tricia Downer manager of the school said. "We currently have 12 students, basic and master students. We work with out students and their schedules. It's full time, part time, they choose. We strive as a structure in a medical or day spa atmosphere, not only for our students to be certified and pass their boards, but ready to start in the real world."

"The open house has been insane, crazy, busy busy," Downer said. "We have a lot of our clients and some I've never seen before."

We have a photo gallery from the open house at Azario.

The Forum open house. Emily Flora SWoCo

Open House at The Forum

The open house proved to be a success at The Forum, where some of their stores aren't even open on Sunday. All of the stores in The Forum participated in the open house which includes, Willow Grove, Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea, Mimi Plus LTD, Colors & You, Toadly Kids, Thru the Garden Gate, Yarids, E.l. Randle, Blue Mountain Gems, Talbots, You're Invited, Panache, and JoS A. Bank Clothiers.

"We've always had an open house whether The Forum does or not," Carolyn Allie, owner of Colors & You said. "I am pleased with the turnout. I think we've had a lot of traffic."

Allie says she plans to have the open house every Sunday until Christmas from 1 to 5 p.m.

"We are consistent and we work hard," she said after owning Colors & You for 25 years, 15 years in which have been spent at The Forum. "What I've prayed for in Colors & You is that we will be consistent."

Willow Grove also stayed busy during the open house on Sunday.

Owner of Willow Grove, Mary Barton said, "We had a really good day. Looking back at the volume and sales, it was a really strong day. I feel like we are the best kept secret in town."

"We've (The Forum) done several events together in the past, like a sidewalk sale in July, and we decided to do the holiday open house. I'm a big supporter of small businesses- especially now and I don't want to see Roanoke lose their specialty stores," she said.

Barton bought Willow Grove about a year ago from another owner, but the store has only been open a few years.

"We are new and we really thrive on our customer service," she said.

Willow Grove will be celebrating the 12 days of Christmas starting on Dec. 12 by having a new item each day. The items will be discounted drastically, Barton said for those days.

We have a photo gallery from The Forum