For more than 40 years, shoppers strolling through Glastonbury Center have been drawn to a stately Colonial home at the corner of Main Street and Hebron Avenue, where seasonal wreaths, festive displays and colorful décor hint at the treasure-filled rooms waiting inside Emmy Lou’s Gift Shop.
Founded in 1985 by Emmy Lou DeBari, Emmy Lou’s is one of Glastonbury’s most recognizable small businesses — part boutique, part home décor studio and part community gathering place.
Located on the first floor of the historic Gideon Welles House, an 18th-century Colonial building owned by the town that once served as Glastonbury’s Senior Center. Inside, nearly every corner overflows with carefully curated gifts, seasonal decorations, jewelry, clothing, florals and home accents.
“It’s a perfect location,” Emmy Lou says of the shop’s longtime home in the center of town. “We’re right on the corner and right across from a park, so we get a lot of foot traffic. It’s worked out perfectly being in the center of town here.”
Emmy Lou's warm, eclectic atmosphere has long been part of its appeal. Mantels are lined with candles and framed prints, tables are filled with decorative pieces and gift items, and seasonal displays transform the shop throughout the year. In autumn, pumpkins and Halloween décor fill the rooms. Spring brings flowers and wreaths, while the holiday season turns Emmy Lou’s into a Christmas wonderland complete with decorated trees and a festive sleigh outside the front entrance.
That attention to detail reflects Emmy Lou's creative approach to retail. Known locally for her custom floral arrangements and handcrafted wreaths,she has built a reputation for offering distinctive merchandise customers cannot easily find elsewhere.
“We have a little bit of everything, gifts for every occasion.”
Throughout the year, Emmy Lou's "many, many" wholesale vendors visit the store so she can personally select merchandise for the coming year, carefully balancing affordability with originality. The result is an ever-changing inventory that keeps loyal customers returning season after season.
Many of those customers, she says, are like extended family who have shopped at Emmy Lou’s for decades.
“Our customers have been so loyal over the years, they’ve become more like family than customers.”
That loyalty has helped Emmy Lou’s weather changing retail trends and economic ups and downs. While many independent gift shops struggled during the rise of online shopping, Emmy Lou’s continued to thrive by emphasizing personal service, distinctive products and a welcoming atmosphere difficult to replicate online.
As Glastonbury has evolved over the decades, Emmy Lou’s has remained a constant — a small business rooted in creativity, community and personal connection.
“We love this community and we love what we do here.” Emmy Lou says. “And we’re not going anywhere.”
Emmy Lou's
17 Hebron Ave., Glastonbury
860-633-9565
On Facebook: EmmyLousLtd
“We love this community and we love what we do here.
“It’s a perfect location. We’re right on the corner and right across from a park, so we get a lot of foot traffic. It’s worked out perfectly being in the center of town here.”