Three friends of Newton County hosted the grand opening of their brand new gift shop April 1, the Ya-Ya Sisters N More. The three friends are Faith Ford, Rita Johnston and Gail Caruth.The business was inspired by Ford, a local entrepreneur who has owned a business in Covington before.

“I had a business in Covington for four years,” Ford said. “The business is still here in Covington, but I wanted to open up another one.”

The new gift shop sells many antiques such as furniture and plants, but there’s a slight difference in Ya-Ya’s antiques and how they compare to other gift stores. “There are really some great gift stores around here, but we only do one thing different,” Ford said. “We only mix the new antiques with the old antiques.”

Despite its great antiques, Ya-Ya’s specializes in something that they feel is a lot more important than any gift you can buy out of the store. “We specialize in fun,” Ford said. “We want people to come out and enjoy themselves and buy something they like and have a lot of fun.”

On the first day of business, Ford said that Ya-Ya’s had a great turnout for opening day. “We have had at least 20 customers and most of them have bought,” Ford said. “This is a very good turnout for our first (day) considering that we did no advertising.”

Ford said that the gift store received its name just through something of her personal entertainment. “I love the movie the Ya-Ya Sisters” Ford said. “There are three sisters and I have two other friends and who else would be crazy enough to open up a business on April Fool’s day besides us.”

Ford also said that despite there being three friends, only two actually work at the store. “Rita and I are the actual workers and Gail is a financial backer,” Ford said.

Ford encourages everyone who is interested in visiting and buying to live by the business’ slogan when coming to the store. “Come and enjoy and come home,” Ford said. “When customers come in, we want them to feel like they are at home.”

Ya-Ya’s is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays.