{"id":82599,"date":"2020-12-11T08:05:12","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T13:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=82599"},"modified":"2020-12-12T06:33:54","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T11:33:54","slug":"local-utopia-opens-in-owego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Local Utopia\u2019 opens in Owego"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Thursday, the empty storefront on Lake Street in Owego that once occupied Sincerely Yours came back to life with \u2018Local Utopia,\u201d and just in time for Christmas! The building, which once housed the popular card and merchandise store, has been sitting empty since Louise retired at the end of last year and her shop closed. Moving in, however, is the daughter of the building\u2019s owner, Elizabeth Skovira.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Local<\/a>

A ribbon was cut on Thursday to welcome \u201cLocal Utopia\u201d to the downtown landscape of merchants. Pictured, from left, are Cecilia and Joe Skovira, Elizabeth, Tioga Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Andrew Hafer, and Alison Hunt from Congressman Reed\u2019s office. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Following her graduation from high school, Elizabeth moved to New York City for nine years where she studied Merchandising. She then began working in New York\u2019s Diamond District, but always had it in the back of her mind that she wanted to open her own shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted to create a store and give it that trendy New York feel,\u201d said Elizabeth on Thursday. This year, and during the pandemic, she did just that.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Local<\/a>

Pictured in her new shop on Lake Street is Elizabeth Skovira, owner. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Elizabeth was furloughed from her job in New York City during the pandemic; a job that she has not returned to yet. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t even know I\u2019m gone,\u201d said Elizabeth of the irony of the situation. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for the push to the final decision to open a store, Elizabeth explained that her and her mother, Cecilia Skovira, binge-watched Schitt\u2019s Creek, looked at each other, and said, \u201cWe should do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that is what they did. On Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, The Tioga County Chamber of Commerce officiated the opening of \u201cLocal Utopia\u201d with a ribbon cutting ceremony.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Local<\/a>

Joe Skovira, Elizabeth\u2019s father, holds a photo, dated 1906, of the original storefront at 32 Lake St. in Owego. Joe stated that he has worked to bring the building back to its original design. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Working tirelessly during the pandemic, Elizabeth designed her store, selected her merchandise, and then prepared for an opening. By October of this year she was able to do a soft opening, and then celebrated with her Grand Opening on Thursday; and her family, could not be happier to have her here.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe just brings all this energy to everything,\u201d said her father, Joe, who is also the building\u2019s owner. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see what she is going to do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Right now, Elizabeth stated that she has a limited inventory of items; things like skin care products, clothing, and even a small supply of Crystal City Olive Oil. She also designed the store with local in mind, selling products made in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to start my inventory with product needs during the pandemic,\u201d said Elizabeth. She is currently working with Ithaca Roasting Company to bring in more coffee and tea products. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\u2018Local<\/a>

Crystal City Olive Oil is just one of the local products that can be found at \u201cLocal Utopia\u201d on Lake Street. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Being a huge Halloween person, Elizabeth came in too late to stock up for this year\u2019s season, but is already looking forward to a post-pandemic world, and at all of the ideas she has for her quaint shop – a shop that her father restored to its original design.<\/p>\n

To learn more about Local Utopia, visit local-utopia.com<\/a>. You can also call them at (607) 240-9829, or visit them Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. at 32 Lake St. in Owego.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Thursday, the empty storefront on Lake Street in Owego that once occupied Sincerely Yours came back to life with \u2018Local Utopia,\u201d and just in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":82601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Local Utopia\u2019 opens in Owego - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Local Utopia\u2019 opens in Owego - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last Thursday, the empty storefront on Lake Street in Owego that once occupied Sincerely Yours came back to life with \u2018Local Utopia,\u201d and just in...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-11T13:05:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-12T11:33:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2020\/12\/Utopia2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2330\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018Local Utopia\u2019 opens in Owego - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2020\/12\/Utopia2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-11T13:05:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-12T11:33:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e03684194434956dfb61f5ffcbc19492\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/12\/11\/local-utopia-opens-in-owego\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2020\/12\/Utopia2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2020\/12\/Utopia2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2330,\"caption\":\"Elizabeth holds her official opening certificate and stands surrounded by family members on Thursday, and as she celebrates her grand opening on Lake Street. 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