This month’s LGBTQ business spotlight is on Boy Next Door Menswear. We sat down with co-owner Rocky Carroll to discuss the ins and outs of their business. When was the business founded and how long have you been in business? The Boy Next Door was founded in 1980 and operated at the original location near the Botanical Gardens for more than 40 years.
We purchased the business and continued in that spot until 2023 when we moved to a larger space on the Rainbow Crosswalk. The planned expansion of the park threatened to displace us, so when we saw the space on Piedmont was available, we snapped it up.
Since we moved, our loyal customers report that they love the new location and we are discovering many new customers. We just absolutely love our new location. Why was the business founded? Boy Next Door arose from the local, vibrant LGBTQ community, and we always felt connected to it.
We felt keeping it locally owned, operating, and part of the community here was important. How is business now compared to pre-pandemic? The pandemic was a time for reflection and innovation, and we used that time to make improvements to our operations.
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