Local Focus: Couple's Dreams Lead to 'Life is Good' Shop Downtown

LESS THAN three months after getting the chance to start the business of their dreams, Marty and Regan Montano opened Jake’s Kirkland, a downtown retail shop selling Life is Good brand clothing and gear, from coffee cups to towels.

Life is Good, a Boston brand started by brothers Bert and John Jacobs, offers optimistic, upbeat and fun products featuring simple graphics and inspirational messages illustrating the feel-good vibe that “life is good.”

“We like each other,” explains Regan. “We’ve always wanted to own a business and work together because we have a lot of fun together.”

Jumping in with two – no, four – feet into the world of retail, the Montano’s will get their wish. The store, at 125 Lake Street South, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. The Montanos are the shop’s only employees, at least for now.

Sitting in one of the store’s two big, cushy leather chairs, Regan looks around and smiles. “This is amazing. I still can’t believe this happened.”

It all started this past summer. Regan and Marty had gone to U Village to buy a T-shirt for a cousin who had recently taken up running. They were devastated to realize the shop was gone. “We were saying, ‘how can the coolest store here close?’” Regan recalls. “We couldn’t believe it.”

Why such a passion for the brand? “I love the way the brand makes me feel,” Regan explains. “It makes me feel like I want to be a better person. Whether picking up trash, being friendlier, smiling more. Plus it’s the most comfortable clothing I’ve ever found.”

She was still lamenting the store's disappearance a few days later when she had friends over for an evening on the deck. “Why don’t you and Marty open one?” asked her friend.

“She said that I looked like I had just been electrocuted,” Regan recalls of her immediate recognition this was the idea they’d been searching for. As it turned out, another guest on the deck was a regional representative for Life is Good, Shelly Mottaz. “I asked her, ‘Shelly, could we really do that?’” says Regan. “She said 'Sure, you can.'” That was Aug. 13.

Marty, a CPA who was looking for his next project and considering commuting to Cleveland for a new position, embraced the idea as quickly as Regan.

“This guy is so great,” says Regan, nodding toward her husband as he greets a customer. “I knew he’s one of the smartest people I know. But to see him grab this by the horns has been amazing. It’s just like, how did you even know how to do that? He had 80 balls in the air. Having never done this before, I think he’s just very brave, very incredible.”

Soon they were pounding the pavement, looking for a home for their shop. But they didn’t feel like the fit was right until they returned to a place near and dear to their heart: downtown Kirkland. "A representative from Life is Good came out to meet with us,” says Regan. “We sat across the street at looking at this space and imagining what it would be like. A few days later, we were approved.”

That was Sept. 9.

WITH THE HELP of Shelly and the Life is Good team in Boston, the Montanos scrambled to sign a lease, transform the space into a comfortable, upbeat retail destination, and order a store’s worth of product.

Regan describes the moments before opening the store like only a mother can. “It sounds funny, but it was sort of like the feeling of being about to have a baby. You just don’t know what’s going to happen. Our friends and family were standing out on the sidewalk counting down. Business neighbors sent flowers."

They opened on 11/11/11 at 11:11 a.m. and have enjoyed warming up to their new roles. While both are eager to greet customers with warm, infectious smiles, Marty tends to take the lead behind the counter. Regan feels more comfortable away from the cash register, straightening product and helping customers.

“It is just such an honor to be here,” says Regan who looks forward to taking part in community events and helping to support Life is Good’s foundation, the Playmaker’s Foundation, which helps children worldwide through play.

“What an amazing community to be a part of. There is so much pride and so much love of the city. We’ve been open for just days and we’ve met so many wonderful people. They’ve been so nice and grateful and welcomed us so warmly.”

For the Montanos, whose three teenage sons have helped, the venture is all about being together.

“When we were decorating the store, we specifically had the company send us the peanut butter and jelly graphic with the accompanying words 'stick together.' We purposely hung it across from the counter so when we get overwhelmed we can look at it and think OK, we’ve got this. We’ll stick together.”