By Kevin Greer
Lakeside Communications Manager
Mercedes Wise has been a Lakesider for over three decades. For 26 years, she’s been the owner of a store that’s a staple in the heart of the community’s business district.Miss Mercedes, located at 203 W. Second Street, is a popular stop for vacationers and locals.
The shop started in 1998 as an educational toy store but has continually evolved. The store now carries numerous gift ideas such as jewelry, kitchenware, home fragrances and décor, stationery and an eclectic assortment of chocolate bars, including pigs n’ taters and chicken & waffles. Her biggest sellers are JellyCats, a whimsical assortment of stuffed animals that appeal to all ages.
“Our business has evolved and changed,” Wise said. “We really try to offer a curated shopping experience of things that people aren’t going to find anywhere else. I can’t sell something that I don’t love.”
Wise’s store is open every day except Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Being a year-round business is something she takes pride in.
“I always try to keep our customers at the forefront of my mind,” Wise said. “I think it’s super important to provide consistency for our customers, that’s first and foremost. There has to be a Level 3 snow emergency for us to not be open.”
Being a business owner is synonymous with the Wise family. Mercedes’ father, Joseph, was a clockmaker and started Joseph Wise Fine Clocks with his wife, Cindy, in Fremont, about a 40-minute drive from Lakeside.
Joseph died in 2015, but the business remains open with Mercedes’ sister, Emilia, and her adult children, David and Maddie, carrying on his legacy. Joseph Wise Fine Clocks was part of Lakeside for many years and is still owned by Cindy, but was rebranded to Wise Woman Boutique, across the street from Miss Mercedes. The clock remains on the awning in front of the store in honor of Joseph. Emilia also manages Embellish in Marblehead and Ray Wise, Mercedes’ uncle, owns Erie Food Market just outside the Fifth Street Gate. However, Mercedes says the businesses are not a family competition.
“I always like to think that there’s enough cuteness for all of us to do our own thing,” Mercedes said.
Christmas doesn’t fall within the Chautauqua season, but it’s one of the busiest times for Mercedes and her three employees who have been on the staff for 10 years. They start receiving shipments around Labor Day and it takes someone eight hours daily for up to 10 weeks pricing Christmas inventory. Miss Mercedes closes for five days leading up to the Fall Festival to transform the store in preparation for the holiday season.
“We transform the entire store into a winter wonderland,” Mercedes said. “This has become a Lakeside tradition that many customers wait for with great anticipation.”
Mercedes has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo and master’s from Bowling Green State University, both in education. She serves as the Director of Student Services for Danbury Local Schools. Mercedes said her parents were a big influence on starting a business and learned “all of it” from them. She’s been successful but is now picking up a few more pointers.
“In this past year, I’ve been taking my very first business class,” Mercedes said. “After 26 years, I decided, ‘Hey, I probably need to learn a few new things.” Up until now, it has been a lot of trial and error.”
Mercedes says there’s a difference between summer and year-round customers, and she does her best to please all of them while adding to the Lakeside experience.
“I’ve been working at fine tuning my buying and what we’re offering based on those two different demographics,” Mercedes said. “The locals are what sustain us through the winter and we’re extremely grateful for that.”
Miss Mercedes offers delivery in Lakeside during the season and shipping year round. Customers are always welcome to stop in the store all year, but they can also shop online anytime at its new website, missmercedes.com. You can follow the shop on social media @missmercedeslakeside.
Mercedes knows that Lakeside has so much to offer, and she’s honored to be a part of a place that means so much to her.
“My contribution to Lakeside is my business,” Mercedes said. “I’m not a vacationer or a guest. I am so grateful for the opportunity, and I love getting to serve the guests in the community of Lakeside. We are so lucky that this is where we get to spend our time.”
Special thanks to Miss Mercedes for being a 2024 Lakeside sponsor.
