This shirt, which is custom-made for The Mint, is a best seller-according to Posey.

TIFTON, Ga. — The Mint Boutique, located at 344 Main St., is open for business.

Owner and operator Jennifer Posey isn’t new to the boutique business. She and her mother ran a little shop in Fitzgerald, but when her mother passed Posey couldn’t bear to run it without her.

She worked at a company in Ashburn for 13 years, which she said she really loved, but that her husband kept pushing her.

“He was just like, ‘You could do so much more,’” she said.

Posey said that they were driving through downtown Tifton and saw that a space had opened up.

“It just happened so quick,” she said. “I was weighing if I wanted to leave a job I’d had for 13 years to start something totally on my own. Everything was just falling into place and I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’”

“Really, I think it was just something that was meant to be,” Posey said.

She said that downtown Tifton is a great location.

“There is not an empty store down here anymore,” she said. “That’s impressive for a downtown, that shows that the community is supporting the area instead of running out of town to go shopping. Tifton is beautiful and everyone here has been just so nice. It is the friendly city, it really is.”

The shop is a family affair, according to Posey.

“I’ve got my daughter and my future daughter-in-law,” she said. “I’m constantly showing them stuff, ‘Hey, do you like this?’”

Her husband, Scott, helps with the buying and running the store.

Her son, who has helped run the store as well, just graduated from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and her daughter is currently enrolled there.

“My daughter was like, ‘Mom, college students don’t have that much money to be spending on stuff,’” Posey said. “I’m not totally gearing it to the college students, because I want my generation to be able to shop here too.”

As a soon-to-be grandmother, she said it’s important to make sure that everyone can find something stylish no matter what age they are.

“You don’t want to look dressed old,” she said. “You still want to look good.”

Posey said that she wants to make sure that her boutique has something for everybody, and that her selections are affordable.

“Nobody wants to go into a store and spend $100 just on one outfit,” Posey said. “You want more for your dollar. I try to strategically price things so that I make a profit to keep my business going but also give the customer a really good deal.”

She said that she really wants to give the community a good deal.

“I give discounts to ABAC students,” she said. “I give discounts to military, teachers, firefighters, policemen, their families. They do so much for us and I do like to give back when I can, out of appreciation.”

The Mint Boutique is open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.