Firefly Lights Up Commonwealth Avenue

Mary Klinoff, known to many as one of the Bilodeau sisters started lending her retail expertise to a new enterprise that opened on Commonwealth Avenue in West Concord.

She got the cafe at , LLC to buy its breads from the across the street, and other sandwich ingredients and desserts from local establishments. That's her philosophy: encourage sharing among local business owners.

As she left Dabblers, she drove by an empty storefront that was next to where the Grasshopper Shop started out, and stared wistfully at the retail space for rent. Some inner voice was telling her to lease the place for her own store.

"I never thought I would jump into another lease, but I was drawn in here," she said last week.

Soon she opened her own shop and filled it with exactly what she wanted to sell and nothing else. At Concord Firefly. she was making her own decisions, doing what she felt was right. She hired a saleswoman, Kyoung Hee McNulty, who had applied for a job at Dabblers. She carries Thai and Korean imports from McNulty's mother and others who travel to Asia. She has toys, candy, jewelry and clothes, stuffed animals and candles.

"I feel like I've come full circle," said Klinoff. "Everything is what I call fun stuff. It's an eclectic mix."

She enjoys watching families come in because she feels everyone can find something, even boys, she said, who normally do not willingly shop.

"It's a nurturing place," said Klinoff.