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Featured Heart of Danville Member:
The Derby Shoppe & Raggs
by Wesley Wei, our BCHS volunteer
I have a background in textiles and clothing from college and it was a natural for me. John has a background in banking. That's something about us probably not a lot of people know and between the two of us, we are a good match for the clothing retail business.
~ Martha Caywood,
Co-Owner, The Derby Shoppe & Raggs
Known as a "better ladies boutique", The Derby Shoppe and Raggs is a women's clothing shop with unique and quality clothes, shoes, and accessories. Owned by John and Martha Caywood, the Derby Shoppe is one of the oldest businesses in downtown Danville, and it has evolved over the last four decades to continue to stay competitive and serve their long-time and dedicated customers.
One of the great department stores in downtown Danville was Parks-Belk, located on the corner of Third and Main where Chase bank sits today. John Caywood worked in the Parks-Belk menswear department after coming back from the service, and he became fascinated with  retail, along with his parallel pursuit in banking. He and his wife, Martha - who studied fashion design, made the investment to open a menswear store in 1976 located at 124 N Third Street that was managed by their friend and colleague, Bill Robertson, for many years. Martha later opened up a sister store to the Derby Shoppe in 1985 named Raggs, which was first located on the bypass and featured a range of ladies and menswear. Later, the two stores merged into two separate storefronts but in one downtown location and the Derby Shoppe and Raggs has shifted to be a women's specialty shop with distinctive clothing and shoe lines, such as Nic & Zoe, Tribal, Sharon Young, Ariat, Bella Vita, and Sanita.
In addition to the Caywoods longtime presence as business owners
in downtown, their store manager Bonnie Purcell has worked with them since right after they opened Raggs. As a result, the Derby Shoppe and Raggs has an established customer base. The staff at the store loves connecting with their customers and learning their style and they will even call customers when specific products come in they know the customer will like. And customers, in turn, enjoy this kind of personalized attention. Along with their product knowledge, Martha, Bonnie, Dawn, Emily, and the others working at the shop,
create a positive and lively atmosphere that invites new, as well as their long-time customers to take a look inside their doors.
To learn more about the Derby Shoppe and Raggs, click here
to go to their Facebook page.
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