Chris and Heather Johnson
Chris and Heather Johnson are not your typical costume shop people. Chris works fulltime in law enforcement and Heather previously was a procurement specialist. But they are entrepreneurs as well, and when they learned that former NCA members Alan and Pam Kleinschmidt were selling their costume business, American Creative Products, they jumped at the chance to try something new.
“Alan and Pam were in the business 22 years and they’re retiring, and when we saw their ad about selling the store, we met with them and decided it was something we were interested in,” Chris says. “We bought the business at the beginning of October. We didn’t have time to open for Halloween, but our plan is to be ready by next season.”
Chris says the store, renamed The Costume Party Store and now located in Ledgewood, New Jersey, may have an online presence before the Halloween season. Heather is currently managing the business, while also taking care of the couple's two children. The couple also operate a camper rental business and manage some rental homes.
There is competition in their community from Spirit Halloween – three or four locations within 10 miles – but nothing year-round.
“We’re well known in this community,” Chris says. “There are lots of kids and good schools with so many activities. Our intention is to appeal to the local community and sports programs, and we know the people who are involved in those.”
Chris says Heather’s procurement and organizational skills will be essential to the new venture.
“She is very good with people and she loves the holidays. So combining that with our management experience and the fact that we’ve grown businesses in the past, we believe this will be successful.”
Welcome, Chris and Heather!