Happy Place Gift Boutique debuts in Rehoboth Beach

The renamed gift shop features a mix of coastal gifts, souvenirs and apparel.

A longtime gift shop on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, kicked off this season with a new name, some new merchandise and new owners. M2, which has been a staple gift shop for more than two decades, has been renamed Happy Place Gift Boutique, with new owners Heather and Dominick Napolitano.

The husband-and-wife team took ownership of the gift shop in January from mother-and-daughter team Meg Shivone and Meghan Fruchtman. The store features a mix of destination-specific souvenirs for vacationers and gifts that appeal to locals. Heather Napolitano says the store has always featured someone for everyone.

“The store has souvenirs and gifts, but it’s not exactly a gift shop for screen print T-shirts,” she says. “It’s a place where you can get a gift for a person who is watching your dog back home, or a gift for your best friend’s birthday if you live here. It’s for both vacationers and people who live here.”

Napolitano lists a variety of fun sections in the store: a grandparents section, a dad section, a dog section, home goods, drinkware, accessories and jewelry, personal care items and then one wall fully dedicated to coastal gifts and decor. She notes, “People who are new and move to Rehoboth Beach often look there for new decor for their home.”

Fruchtman recognized in 2024 that she was ready to move on from the store she ran alongside her mom for many years, but she wanted to make sure she found someone to take on the business and keep the gift shop going.

Napolitano shares that she has always loved shopping at M2 since she moved to Rehoboth Beach in 2013. Her family moved to the beach community after she was diagnosed with retinol disorder, causing her to go blind.

“We moved here suddenly after I was diagnosed,” says Napolitano, explaining that she wanted to move to the Eastern Shore. “It became such a happy place.”

The store offers some coastal gifts, such as handcrafted sailboats made of locally sourced driftwood.

Happy Place Gift Boutique

“She called us in November and told us that she considered us family. She wanted to sell to someone who would keep it a family business and thought we were a good fit,” says Napolitano. “She asked if we could take over ownership in the new year, and we quickly said yes.”

Although Napolitano says she did not have much retail experience, she notes that Fruchtman helped her and her husband transition into ownership the first few months of the year. Napolitano adds that they decided to keep many of the same vendors and product categories that customers in Rehoboth Beach came to know and love. However, the husband-and-wife team recognized there was an opportunity to add tween apparel as a new product category.

“One of the biggest things we’ve added is a tween section,” says Napolitano. “My daughter is 11. We’ve noticed there’s not great options for tweens, so adding that section has been great.”

Since a lot of families visit the shop, Napolitano says she also wanted to add a coloring nook for kids in one part of the store, just in case they need something to do while mom and dad shop.

Napolitano adds that she’s also excited about some new local brands she added for her first season as owner, including Lewis Candle Co. and Sunshine and Saltwater. She says, “It’s so important to me to have some local feel in here.”

The gift shop debuted its new name this spring and hosted a grand opening March 22 for the general public, just ahead of peak season for the Rehoboth Beach community. Napolitano says she’s excited to offer a “Happy Place” for tourists and locals alike in Rehoboth Beach.

“We’re having fun with it,” she says. “We want to carry on the traditions of M2, but with our own family’s flavor. It’s been really exciting. We just want people to come in, walk around, look at things and smile or laugh.”