“Helping people realize that they can do it
themselves,” Culling said, is key. “Everything doesn’t
have to be a big project. Just little by little, bite off pieces
they can handle. We really wanted to create that intimate
environment, and I think it’s made a difference for the
customer who’s looking for that. They have been so
happy to find a store like this.”
Culling lives in the Kennesaw area herself but felt
like that her niche wouldn’t be as easy to fill there. So she
went to East Cobb and found out that she was able to fill
a space in the market with a customer base that’s both
loyal and caring.
Oftentimes, she finds the same loyal customers will
visit multiple times a week, and they aren’t even
shopping for themselves.
“We opened with the idea of embracing Southern
hospitality and embracing your setting,” Culling said.
“Everyone wants to take a gift wherever they go.”
You won’t likely find trendy items at the Pineapple
Porch, Culling said. The concept is to make people feel at
home and then allow customers to find the items to
complete their own living space.
The pineapple, Culling said, is a symbol of
hospitality while the porch is where you bring people
into your lives. That’s why she felt that Pineapple Porch
Boutique was the perfect name for her concept.
“We are a classic store, so we carry a lot of classic
things,” Culling said. “We carry blue and white, we carry
bamboo. We carry linen, we carry a lot of things that the
Southern lifestyle really hangs onto. I feel like people
know what we have and know who we are. They’re not
going to come here looking for a modern piece of
artwork.”
They have everything from candles to table-top
place settings to salt and pepper shakers to the best
ways to present appetizers or charcuterie.
“Charcuterie is not going anywhere,” she said.
A key element of the Pineapple Porch’s success is
making customers feel at home and making sure that
they get the items that they actually want and that fit
their home.
That’s why they often allow customers to take items
home to try them out before making the final decision to
make a purchase. To live with the item and see how it
fits their needs.
“Some people don’t like to bring things back once
they’ve bought them,” Culling said. “I think it relieves a
lot of the pressure for them when they say, ‘I’m going to
try these,’ knowing that about half of it is going to work…
‘I can take home these three platters but I only need one.’
It’s really about knowing that it’s going to work in their
space so that they feel good about it.”
This is why customers keep coming back. And why,
when things get tough like they did when the store
closed for two months during the COVID-19 pandemic,
loyal customers reach out and make sure to keep buying.
It’s a value proposition and it’s clear that East Cobb
values the Pineapple Porch Boutique.
APRIL 2022 | COBB LIFE 13
/dessna.com