Almost exactly two years after it opened, the Fashion Truck on Main will be shutting its doors. But its owner still expects to be on hand for anyone in Westford looking for a fashion fix.
A farewell party for the Fashion Truck on Main will be held on October 15, with the store closing at an unannounced date sometime near the end of October.
Benson cited the growth of her fashion consulting business, Style by Emily, as the main factor behind her decision.
Between that growth, time constraints that come with running a retail location and other responsibilities like the Westford Food Truck Festival, the time was right to move on.
“Owning a business is hard, but running a retail business is harder,” she said. “People expect you to be here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I’m not Marshall’s, I can’t (be.) That’s been a conflict for me. I want to be here.”
Benson will also be selling her business’ eponymous truck, gearing her focus toward the consulting business, which she describes as helping professional women define a particular style for their personal brands.
Her brand, and her truck, is for sale. However, she is not willing to part with the gratitude she has for her hometown.
“The store has done well in this location; I’m not closing it because it isn’t doing well. I’m closing it because I want to move on to bigger and better things,” said Benson. “The people of Westford have been incredibly welcoming and really excited that I’ve been here and I’m really going to miss my regular customers.”
Benson got her start with the Fashion Truck in Boston, and she hopes to become the Boston area’s premiere fashion consultant, potentially spreading out nationally and internationally. However, coming home to Westford had an impact on how she views her professional future that she expects to keep.
“What changed in a good way was that I got to be part of a community, which I hadn’t been as a mobile business, and that’s the cool thing about Westford,” she said. “I love Westford, period. It’s given me this great launchpad to go back out in the world.”
Despite the closure, Benson expects to establish a home office in Westford and also continue heading up the Westford Food Truck Festival, which is quickly becoming local tradition each May and October.
This fall’s festival has been rebranded as the Fashion Truck’s Savor in Style Festival, and will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 17 on the lawn of the Abbot School.
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