SALEM — Roost seems to fit on Front Street, a cobblestoned roadway with old brick buildings and new retail stores.
Owners Kate Leavy and Jamie Metsch have opened a small home goods store at 40 Front St. that looks a little like a farmhouse with hip stuff. There is an old stove in one corner, rough-hewn pine boards on a side wall and exposed brick from the original 19th century building.
The married couple are selling a variety of housewares, from pillows to cheese plates, along with jewelry and gifts.
It has organic soaps from a Fall River company and pendants with birds and flowers painted on pieces of old maps by an artist from Portland, Ore.
"The No. 1 selling item is the ceramic coffee cup," Leavy said of a tall, white cup that looks like a takeout container from a coffee shop. In fact, it's being promoted just down the street at the Front Street Coffeehouse.
Open only a few weeks, the store is doing well, the owners said.
There has been "an overwhelming response to the price point," Leavy said of their stock, much of which sells in the $10 to $20 range.
"I've done retail a long time," said the woman who once managed a store in Portsmouth, N.H. "When times are tough, people look for something completely original ..." and affordable.
Leavy and Metsch moved here last spring from Asheville, N.C., drawn by the ocean and the excitement they sense in Salem.
"I feel like Salem has a little bit of that Asheville edge," Leavy said. "I like the possibilities in Salem."
Roost is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Raw Video: Giants Celebrate Another Super Bowl
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Greek Leaders Seek Deal As Bankruptcy Looms
Bernanke: Recovery Depends on Consumer Spending
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay
Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria
Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time
US, UK Pressure on Syria; More Homs Violence
Raw Video: Mass Killer Wants Medal, Freedom
Court Strips Contador of Tour De France Title
Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Romney Latest Poll to Join Let-me-explain Club
