Doing Business: Branché and Poppo's Taqueria

EAST COUNTY — Her East County roots have never kept Trisha Zuknick planted in Sarasota.

The Braden River High graduate has traveled to “fashion-forward” states, such as California and New York and feels most at home in Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, and other big cities filled with youth sporting the newest seasonal trends.

Whether she’s in New York City or at The Mall at University Town Center, Zuknick’s eyes are drawn to the purses hanging from the forearms of women brushing passed her.

“When I’m out, I can’t stop looking at what people are carrying,” Zuknick said. “I like to see what types of purses different women go for.”

The 22-year-old’s handbag obsession isn’t because she wants more ideas for which accessories to add to her personal collection; it’s her job.

Zuknick sells purses at a kiosk located in front of Victoria’s Secret at The Mall at University Town Center.
Zuknick’s shop — Branché, which means trendy in French — features European handbags, which range from $250 to $700. The kiosk holds about 50 purses at one time from foreign labels such as Badgley Mischka, Sequoia Paris, Kemestry and Amerigo Buti.

Although she, and her mother, Tammy, who acts as a silent partner in the venture, secured the space for a year, the mother-daughter duo plan to move to a storefront after their lease is up — if not sooner.

“This is just the first baby step to what I want to do,” Zuknick said. “I want to open an actual store in the mall, and expand what I’m selling.”

Typically, Julia DeCastro, of the UTC specialty leasing team, signs kiosk owners up for 60- to 90-day rental agreements, and no longer than a year, she said.

DeCastro said business owners get a trial period before committing to the extra responsibilities that come with being a storeowner in the mall.

If she secures a store space, Zuknick plans to sell jewelry, watches and more.

Although now a small business owner, Zuknick plans to continue traveling. But this time it pays her to shop.

She estimates she’ll travel three to four times a year, to big-city showrooms, where she will pick out the handbags she wants to order and sell at her East County shop.

She may also visit a designer in Italy next year to preview the newest line of handbags.

A new business owner and college graduate who majored in biology rather than business, Zuknick hasn’t gotten discouraged from the heaps of paperwork on payroll for her two employees, how to apply for a business license and other specifics she knew nothing about.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed, Zuknick focuses on what’s next for Branché.

She hopes to expand to other area shopping centers, such as St. Armands Circle or Tampa International Mall.

So far, she has seen a steady flow of interested women in her target age range — 30 to 55 years old — who have window-shopped or convinced their husbands that an early Christmas present wouldn’t be a bad idea.

To Tammy Zuknick, a 32-year banking professional, her daughter’s idea is something there is a market for out east.

“I definitely think she’ll do well with this,” Zuknick said. “These types of purses aren’t sold around here. It’s a different idea.”

Branché
Owner: Trisha Zuknick
Services: European handbags, organizers
Website: branchestyle.com
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays
Location: In front of Victoria’s Secret in The Mall at University Town Center, 140 University Town Center Drive, Sarasota

ABOUT THE OWNER
Trisha Zuknick, 22, is a Sarasota native and has spent her life in Manatee County. Before launching her handbag kiosk at The Mall at UTC, Zuknick considered a career in pharmaceutical sales. But, after talking with her aunt, who owns a rug store that also sells purses, and considering her love for fashion, she decided to start her own business in June.

Spotlight On: Poppo's Taqueria
What Poppo’s Taqueria serves up at its two locations, on Anna Maria Island and Northwest Bradenton, isn’t Tex-Mex or traditional Mexican food.

The restaurant specializes in a San Francisco twist on Mexican food, with hormone-free meats, mostly organic produce and burritos, served “Subway-style.”

Customers choose what they want from the food items available in front of them.

Patrick Coleman, 28, co-owns the shops with his girlfriend, Rowen Beals, and his brother, Casey. After they launched their first location two years ago, the trio is now expanding out east.

Coleman expects his two newest Poppo’s facilities, to be located at the corner of State Road 70 and Lockwood Ridge Road, and across from the Mall at University Town Center in the Cooper Creek plaza, to open in the spring.

“We’re doing a unique thing here,” Coleman said.