Marrianne Thomason always knew that she wanted to run a business. After college and several sales jobs, she has owned Pink Peppers for 10 years.

“In 2009, I bought my business license and started buying and selling things to friends and family that I came across and really liked,” Thomason said. “I have always wanted to own a retail store because I had been in sales. I went to Troy University and got my degree in marketing. So, I have always had the sales bug in me. I started buying wholesale and one thing led to another. I have had three different locations since settling on the bypass.”

Thomason said the thing that has changed the most over the past decade has been the technology.

“A lot of people are buying and shopping online,” Thomason said. “Having the social media to advertise with has been a huge plus for us.”

Although technology and shopping online is a plus, Thomason encourages residents of Covington County to shop local.

“Brick and mortar stores like us have had to adjust with people shopping online,” Thomason said. “In my opinion, I think a local shop just has so much more to offer. We are able to talk to customers face to face and they can’t get that anywhere else. Being able to shop locally has always been important to me personally because our local businesses are the ones that support events in the area.”

Thomason said interacting with the customers has been the best part of her job.

“I really enjoy seeing the customers and talking to them,” Thomason said. “I love helping them pick out gifts for their friends and family. One of our biggest assets, I think, is that we are able to take a gift that they pick out and hand wrap it and make it look all pretty. When they take it somewhere, people usually recognize that it came from Pink Peppers.”

Looking forward, Thomason said she is excited to keep offering something unique like Pink Peppers to the community.

“We strive to find something different for every person in the community,” Thomason said. “We hope to continue to grow with that and continue to grow our customer base. On a weekly basis, we have people that come in that have never been to the shop before. I have several customers tell me when they stop in from out of town that they have never seen a shop like this before. So, we hope to stay on top of that.”

The Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce plans to have a celebration today at 3 p.m., at Pink Peppers.