Alicia Mohr is a business owner, Northwestern alumni and an Evanston resident. Recently she reopened her self-titled store, Alicia Mohr, on 2014 Central Street—a significant change from her previous location at Old Orchard Mall
“I decided to move for a bunch of reasons. I think at the end of the day, I wanted to be part of a community. I’ve lived in Evanston for over 20 years, and I loved the idea of having my store there,” she said.
Mohr’s brand is inspired by promoting small businesses. Her store carries unique, colorful and fashion-forward merchandise, bringing in brands not seen in many places.
“When I first opened the store, I had been a jeweler before, selling my pieces to other stores. I saw a real need for a store that carries really unique, really colorful, really fun things that I wasn’t finding when I went to the mall and other places,” she said.
Some of the challenges she faced involved finding a location that was a great fit. “We wanted a bigger space, but I decided that the location was more important than the size of the space,” she said. In addition to this, she had other challenges with securing permits, transitioning their previous location to a new one and promoting it to former customers.
Mohr wanted her brand to target a younger audience due to her experiences living in Evanston as a college student. “There’s not as many places for teens, preteens and college-age people to shop [in Evanston] and we wanted to fill that need,” she said. “When I was [a student at Northwestern], I remember just wishing there were more places where I could get outfits for dances, everything, and we’d end up making a big journey to the mall, which was harder to do.”
Mohr bases her brand on trends she believes are sustainable, featuring current trends such as “bows, mesh, metallic and faux leather,” while continuing her theme with bright colors.
“We’re known for being trend-focused, but I always try to buy into the trends that I think would have more staying power, so people want to wear it for a long time and not just get rid of it two months later,” she said.
Before the opening of her store, Mohr had a background in marketing.
“I had a corporate career before this in marketing, I worked for big consumer products companies like L’Oreal,” she said. “What I try to do is automate as much as possible, because we’re really small and there’s not a lot of time to do things. I really want to do more collaborative marketing with other businesses.”
The most rewarding aspects of Mohrs’ brand are the connections she’s formed throughout her journey and the experiences she has created and grown from.
“I think a lot of people, especially during the pandemic, started sharing more about their lives with us, and that was an unexpected benefit of opening the store,” she said. “I’ve built a bunch of friendships through it, and I really love that part of it.”
