OCEAN CITY – The owner of a popular Towson-area boutique is eager to serve new and returning customers at Mint + Major Beach Haus.
On May 27, Mint + Major owner Melissa Bona opened her second boutique store at the 120th Street shopping center in Ocean City. After months of design work and construction, Bona said the storefront is ready to serve the resort area.
“Honestly, a second store wasn’t on my radar, but I truly believe the universe brings things to you,” she said. “It’s the perfect little space in the town I love.”
Bona is no stranger to the fashion industry. With 20-plus years of experience as a buyer, some of her former employers include Nordstrom, Anthropology, J. Crew and South Moon Under.
“I had always shopped at South Moon Under and grew up coming down here every weekend in the summer with my family and shopping …,” she said. “So I started to work for the company. I worked for South Moon Under and was so impressed by the business that was built there. The culture was amazing, and I really fell in love with not just fashion but that small business, boutique fashion.”
After 10 years with the company, Bona said she decided to take some time for herself. It was during a trip to Honduras, helping a nonprofit organization build houses for families in need, when she started to think about her aspirations.
“It gave me a lot of time to think because you are on three-hour bus rides, to and from,” she explained. “I was like, ‘What do I want to do?’”
The new Ocean City store features a variety of apparel, jewelry and accessories.
It was around that time when the concept of an online boutique store came to mind, Bona said.
“I knew I loved fashion and I knew I loved the small-business aspect, so I was like I’ll do something online. That’s when I developed Mint + Major,” she said. “It came about like a brain dump. I started naming things I liked, like I love the color mint and I love when my friends feel major. One of my friends was like ‘Oh cool, Mint + Major, that’s a cool name’ … Basically what it stands for is always having cool, fresh items and always having the customer feel major when they leave.”
Bona said she soon found success online and started bringing Mint + Major pop-ups to storefronts throughout the Baltimore area. In September of 2019, The Shops at Kenilworth had asked Bona to bring her shop to the mall for a holiday pop-up. The store remains there to this day.
“I did that and never left,” she said. “We are actually going to be moving into a full, permanent location there.”
With the success of her store in Towson, Bona said she had no plans to open a second location until she saw vacant retail space at the Ocean City shopping center last fall.
“This space sort of fell into my lap, as I wasn’t really looking for a second store,” she said. “I just happened to be at The Buzzed Word and just drove by and thought what a cute space. It didn’t look anything like this, but I thought it was the perfect size for what I wanted to do here.”
After signing a lease, construction crews soon got to work transforming the space to complement Bona’s brand. Bona even brought in female entrepreneurs and friends to help design the space and bring in inventory.
“Obviously there were days where it didn’t feel like it was coming together, but when it did it came together really fast …,” she explained. “It was a fun process, but I will say it was a lot harder to do this store than my first store.”
Acknowledging the support of her employees and friends, Bona said the Beach Haus soon came together. And by late May, the boutique was open for business.
“Having grown up coming to Ocean City and having stores be a part of my memories here … I thought it would be really cool to be part of people’s vacations and experiences and having generations grow up with this brand,” Bona said.
Bona noted that Mint + Major Beach Haus – an apparel, jewelry and accessories store – carries a wide range of sizes and styles. She added that customers can also find quality items at a reasonable price.
“Most everything we sell, unless it’s a specialty piece, is under $100. The concept behind that is to be able to show fun trends at an affordable price point that is not fast fashion,” she said. “We really believe in working and partnering with brands where things are made ethically. So they are either made in the USA or, if they are made overseas, they have really great standards for how their workers are treated.”
Bona said she defines styles at Mint + Major as being effortlessly cool and fashion forward. She pointed out that the collection of items at the boutique are curated to tell a story, or to transport customers to a certain place.
“We want our girls to feel cool and chic, but we want it to feel effortless. Nothing complicated, it’s got to be comfortable …,” she said. “If I wouldn’t personally wear it, I probably wouldn’t bring it into the store.”
While fashions are similar to those found at the Towson storefront, Bona noted the Beach Haus features specialty pieces that reflect the beachy, casual nature of Ocean City. She encouraged anyone to visit Mint + Major at its new location, which is open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit mintandmajor.com, or check out Mint + Major on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
“I think when people walk into the store they’re going to feel a sense of calmness,” Bona said. “I feel the store is aesthetically pleasing and not jam packed, so I think it’s an easy shopping experience. Also, I feel our level of customer service and product knowledge is probably at a higher level …. We prefer a one-on-one experience with the customer, getting to know them. I also think our prices are pretty affordable, especially for the quality of merchandise that we sell.”
