“WAIT... SO IT'S A GROCERY STORE?"

Yeah, guys. it’s a grocery store.

And no, it makes absolutely no sense, but…neither does opening a retail spot when no one in the world wants to go shopping. You know?

But I guess if you didn’t know by now, making absolutely no sense is kind of our thing.

Bronson & I have a lot of ideas floating around through our heads and a store was one we’ve talked about broadly for years. But I had no idea it would happen so fast. In my wildest dreams I thought we would have a Lonely Ghost shop, maybe 5 years after launching…annnnnd here we are a year and a half later!

And it’s really all because of just a few hundred thousand people.

(ghost gang whaddup)

The first person is The Magic Man.

Bronson is what I call the “Magic Man” because he can take dreams straight out from anyone's head and almost as if this fool always has a magic wand in his supreme cross body bag, POOF! He make them appear right in front of your eyes.

Like, I’m pretty sure one day at work we we casually talked about how cool it would have a store someday and the next Monday he’s calling me saying “I have the perfect spot.”

Magic Man.

My ideas never really make a lot of sense (we’ve been over this) but the reason we work so well together is that they don’t need to. Brons has super-vision-vision.

He see’s the vision.

Always.

So in the simplest way I can explain it, that's pretty much how the store came to be.

A little idea that built onto bigger and bigger ideas until we we found ourselves searching “used refrigerator doors” on Craigslist.

Watching the vision come to life though, was one of the most fulfilling and exciting experiences I have ever been apart of. 

We had so much help with the store. So much, that I feel the need to emphasize how few power tools I actually held.

We are so lucky to know so many amazing, brilliant, talented & generous people who helped make this happen with us. This project was a team effort, but the team was made up of family and friends. So as stressful and exhausting as building a store can be, I don’t think any of us will remember it that way. I think someday we’ll be in a car and Bronson will turn on “Beth” by Bon Iver and Rory will punch his fists in the air and say, “WOOO!” From the backseat, and we’ll all laugh and reminisce on the long hours and late nights we spent preparing that little shop.

 

It’s hard to feel like you’re working when you’re building a fake grocery store with all of your favorite people.

It's about to feel like a Meryl Streep acceptance speech up in here but it is really important to me that our team gets the credit they deserve. On behalf of me & Bronson, thank you to everyone who helped get this store opened. 

Indy, Lex, Dev, - A team forever, we love you so much. Lonely would be nowhere without you three and I cannot wait to look back on this team photo in 5 years when we take over the world.

Rory, Tillack, Drew, Mike, Ben, Austin - You brought the vision to life, and we could not have done this without you. Thank you for the long, extra hours and details that were put in, you are the unsung heroes of this whole operation.

Our Ghost Grocery employees - for putting shirts into pretend cereal boxes for hours on end, delivering grocery bags in ghost costumes to the influencer elite of Utah, and for always going above and beyond and never complaining about a thing. We are so so happy to have all of you. 

Alpha Lit SLC, My Big Balloon, Ivie Juice Bar, Lox-A-Roons, Balloon Loft, Crumbl, Scott’s bread - these are the little details that will keep us one level ahead, always. Thank you for everything!!

Abby, Jackson, Cody - We are so lucky to have friends who are so talented, and so willing to share their talents with us. You guys are insane and we love you forever.

Our sweet friends and family who are at every sample sale, launch party & ribbon cutting - it makes everything worth it.

Weslie, Ivie, Jack, and any other spouse/partner affected by the Lonely Ghost shenanigans - You are the real MVP’s and we all know damn well this ship wouldn’t run without your unwavering support and excitement.

And last but not least…to our people.

Earlier this year, we faced the stress and anxious uncertainty that all other small business owners have felt. But while we sat with a sinking feeling of not knowing what would happen to this brand & community that we had worked so hard to build - we found ourselves wrapped up by that exact same community that we had worked so hard to build.

You guys stuck around. And as “hallmark christmas movie where Vanessa Hudgens probably plays the lead” as it sounds, we were…kind of… there for each other??? Don’t roast me, I’m serious.

During distressing times, our instagram/online community became an escape from all of the other bullshit. For you guys, but for us too. “Work” was how I kept myself busy and productive while dealing with intense postpartum depression. (And I say “work” in quotations because, ask anyone on the LG team…It doesn’t feel like work. To any of us! We love living in this weird little lonely world as much as you all do.)

Our people, our followers, our ghost gang (that was so Jake Paul of me) were connecting with each other all over the world. Thousands and thousands of strangers, finally meeting and talking to people who GET them for the first time! Girls confiding in each other, commenting on each other’s quarantine selfies, checking in on one another and making future plans once “this is all over.”

You were all there for each other and as your internet mom, I was/am so proud :”) Having grown up during the rise of “stan” culture on twitter - I know that “online” friendships are often looked down upon as not “real friends.” And that’s always bugged me, because some of my closest friends are friends that I DM on Instagram every day without fail but see in person twice a year. But, I don’t need to tell you that. Cause you get it.

And that’s why we built you guys a grocery store.

Seriously. It’s a gift. To you. From us.

Because to be completely honest, this year should have sucked really bad for our brand. I feel guilty even saying it was a good year, but I also cannot end it without pouring my heart of gratitude to all of you. Somehow through so much love, genuine connections, an Addison Rae scandal, and a few pink hoodies - we were able to do accomplish a lot of goals this year, and set ourselves on the path we want to be on.

I hope you know, from the bottom of my heart how thankful and humbled I am from the support Lonely Ghost has received this year.  Whether you bought something, reposted a launch video on your story, dressed like a ghost for tik tok, drove 700 miles to our grand opening, or talked to the girl wearing an ILYSIB mask. It’s all the same and we feel it all and we will never take it for granted.

Thank you, for the store, for everything, for being our purpose & our driving force. This feels so much bigger than a clothing brand to us, and it means a lot to have you here. 

This is just the beginning.

I LOVE YOU SAY IT BACK

Indy