INDIANAPOLIS — When Martha Latta opened Stomping Ground in Indy’s Windsor Park neighborhood, she filled a longstanding void in the community.
“Something that we didn't really have in this neighborhood was retail,” Latta said. “We're just bringing back into the Windsor Park neighborhood this retail hub that didn't exist for 100 years, but 100 years ago it did exist.”
Latta is no stranger to retail. She founded her t-shirt and accessory brand, Sunday Afternoon Housewife, in 2009.
“That is what led into Stomping Ground,” Latta said. “We opened the Stomping Ground as part of Sunday Afternoon Housewife. We say that they're sister businesses, so we operate both of them out of this location.”
It’s a location within walking distance of several other small businesses. Stomping Ground is just steps away from the Kan-Kan Cinema and Restaurant and Amelia’s Windsor Park. The gift shop’s name is especially fitting for Latta, who has called Windsor Park home since 2007.
“Over the years, we've seen things improve and change, but in the last 5 to 7 years, we've had some really rapid growth,” Latta said.
Growth Latta has experienced firsthand.
“Some of the things that I thought we would sell at Stomping Ground when we first opened. we don't anymore,” Latta said. “We always have fresh flowers, because initially we only had those once a week and customers were coming in and wanting those every day.”
Providing items customers want is key to Stomping Ground’s success.
“Just having something in this neighborhood that meets the needs for neighbors so they don't have to travel, you know, to the suburbs, we have right here on the Near East Side,” Latta said.
