Good morning, Hopkinton! Welcome to the daily update we call Hopkinton Today — a quick recap of yesterday’s news, highlights of what’s on tap, and a photo of the day.

Swoon to keep focus on customers as store changes hands

Swoon is located on Walcott Street, just off Main Street. PHOTO/JERRY SPAR

Swoon Central has shut its doors for the next month as new local ownership takes over the business.

Swoon closed down this past weekend after the business officially had changed hands. New owner Jess Feigen said the closure will help her and staff clean, reorganize and prepare for what she called “a fresh start.”

“We’re not going to be making any drastic changes,” Feigen noted. She added that she is retaining the current staff and plans to keep stocking the store with familiar brands. 

Changes Feigen plans to make include expanding the store’s gift offerings. “The store has always had gift items,” she explained. “I want to make this … a place everyone knows where they can go and find something they like in a pinch.”

Feigen said she would continue Swoon’s tradition of getting to know its customers and keep the business as a place where “people can go and feel they’re taken care of.”

Community also will be a focus of the new ownership. Feigen said she was hopeful she could keep Swoon active in the community, especially in support of other local businesses.

Feigen, who has lived in Hopkinton with her family for five years, explained she was a Swoon customer and long had an interest in running the store. She said she “missed the boat” when it sold a few years ago and reached out to the now-former owner, Alaina Chagnon, as soon as she learned it was up for sale again.

“I felt it was a serendipitous time to take the leap into my new store,” she said.

The new owner said she has been involved in retail since she was a teenager, working for major clothing retailers such as Gap, Banana Republic, Nordstrom and Macy’s. She said that in these roles, her focus was on customer experience — something she plans to continue at Swoon.

Feigen added that the business plans to reopen Aug. 20.

— NICK SCHOFIELD

Latest News

A proposal to study relocating two-story modular classrooms from Elmwood School to Hopkins School was tabled by the School Committee at its meeting Thursday night.

The Board of Health on Thursday voted to ban the sale of kratom and synthetic THC products in Hopkinton following a public hearing.

The DPW will shut off a water main on Ash Street today as it prepares for a multi-week construction project in the area.

Contractors will be on Claflin Place today for pavement repairs and prep work ahead of final paving later this week.

Ramps at the Interstate 90/I-495 interchange will be closed this week for construction.

Town meetings tonight include the Permanent Building Committee (7).

Photo of the Day

Troop 1 Hopkinton Scouts (from left) Finn Ayube, Colin Bartley, Gideon McFarland, Evan McDaniel, David Schweller and Clara Vanguri enjoy root beer in the cantina at Ponil Camp on the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. The troop spent 12 days hiking 69 miles through the high-adventure base and reached the summit of Baldy Mountain at 12,441 feet during the trek.

PHOTO/COURTESY RYAN MCDANIEL