By Lou Ann Wilcox / Photos by Klings & Things

St. Louisans like it when one of their offspring returns home. We’re especially pleased to welcome back native St. Louisan Susie Busch-Transou, daughter of August Busch III, as she establishes her new lifestyle boutique, Hearth & Soul, on Clayton Road in Ladue.

The store sells a variety of beautiful goods – women’s and men’s clothing and accessories, kitchen and entertaining items, books (displayed in a cozy nook), artwork, jewelry, furniture and accessories for the home, patio and outdoors, and food items including her dad’s barbeque seasoning, AABIII.

The floor plan of the store is atypical – with items displayed as they would be in a home - and there is a large assortment of local products combined with unique items not previously available in St. Louis. Shoppers will also find some of their favorite brands, but they are curated and in limited quantity. “We try not to have what everyone else has. There is minimal overlap to other stores. There is not a vast selection but what is there is unique,” explained Susie. Also, customers can order or buy any furniture or display item. If you see something you like in the store you can buy it and take it home right away. According to Susie, there are three tiers of pricing, resulting in an open and inclusive atmosphere - not snobbish or off-putting.

Eight years ago, with two kids in college and a third starting high school, Susie thought she had an “opening” in her world for something else. The result was the first Hearth & Soul in Tallahassee, Florida, where she and her family were living. Susie and her husband, Tripp, whom she met at Duke University, are co-owners for the past 26 years of Tri-Eagle Sales, wholesale distributors for Anheuser-Busch InBev brands and other beverages in north and central Florida.

“I started looking for a St. Louis location six years ago,” she explained. “Then a spot in Austin became available and we needed to focus on that for two to three years. Now is the time for St. Louis. We’re looking forward to reengaging with old friends and making new ones!” To further her point, Susie and Tripp purchased a home within walking distance of the new store.

At Tri-Eagle, as well as when she worked at Anheuser-Busch headquarters, the company’s theme parks, and Busch Creative, Susie was involved heavily on the “culture” side of the business - community engagement, marketing, human resources, strategic planning, and employee relations. “Hearth & Soul is the realization of my experiences and affinity in all those areas. It’s more than a store – it’s a place where people can escape, relax, enjoy. There’s no hard sell – no commissions. We want to make people happy.”

When asked about the pros and cons of returning to St. Louis, Susie said there was possibly one con. “People might have a misperception of me – that I’m not sincere. But once they come to the store they will see otherwise. It isn’t about my name.” Susie is known for being hands on and a great woman leader. She is in the store, putting things away, getting her hands dirty. She on-boards new employees herself. “I know I have to prove myself and I am confident in my store’s concept.”

“People are disconnected and are looking for opportunities to connect,” she continued. “Relationships – making friends - are key to any business and are particularly important to the success of this store. Our customers and staff are viewed as family. This store is like a home. I learned those values at Anheuser-Busch. People did take care of each other there.”

But Hearth & Soul is more than a store. “Besides the beautiful items we sell, our community engagement differentiates us from other home goods and lifestyle stores,” she clarified. “We want our store to have items and to provide experiences that touch and feed the souls of our customers. We want coming to Hearth & Soul to be a social occasion as well as a place to get all your shopping done. We want customers to relax and enjoy – and not worry. We want to give them a space to gather, to discover, and to buy if they choose.”

To that end, Hearth & Soul has created monthly partnerships with local nonprofits and wellness entities. Each month, the store gives 100% of the profits of the sale of a candle and holds “friend-raising events” for the benefit of the organization. Wellness Wednesdays feature the monthly fitness partner doing a session on the store’s patio. Susie has been busy for the past year meeting with other Ladue shop owners and neighboring businesses and organizations, along with members of Ladue City Hall and other regional leaders focused on economic development. She’s also been meeting with potential nonprofit partners to ensure her partnership reach is broad. “We want to raise awareness of a variety of nonprofits – especially lesser-known ones who help underserved populations. We want to have an impact on St. Louis with our involvement.”

The works of different local artists are featured in the store every quarter. There already have been book signings, fireside chats, a girls’ night out, and a happy hour with partners and local makers. “St. Louis has a rich fashion history and we want to recognize and promote it,” she noted. There are sections in the women’s and men’s closet areas dedicated to local fashion artists showcasing their wares. November 14 will be the reveal of the 2022 holiday window, “Winter Wonderland at the Hearth,” featuring beautiful birch trees, sleds, lanterns, and 25 Advent calendar gifts nestled throughout the scene. This whimsical winter vision will transform the front window and Hearth room of the store.

Susie took great pains to include local vendors, visiting City Foundry as well as galleries and workshops on Delmar Boulevard. “We have local honey and other food products, home items, beauty products such as facemasks and soap, shoes, pillows, and furniture. We’re looking at all categories and trying to infuse local vendors.”

“In five years, I hope Hearth & Soul is a gathering place for people, where they trust us to find unique things they can buy. We are reaching out to a wide range of zip codes through our marketing efforts and we hope our events bring in people from all over the St. Louis area. This concept worked well in Tallahassee and we’re confident it will work here too.”