I visited Peppermint Boutique on a sunny, cloudless afternoon. The store’s owner, local entrepreneur Tanvi Asher, and I sat outside at a red picnic table shaded by a leafy oak tree across from Cobb’s Hill Park. We were joined by Ginger, an enthusiastic if not slightly overeager apricot cavapoo, who is Asher’s constant companion and the shop’s unofficial mascot. Peppermint Boutique, which recently celebrated its fourteenth anniversary, is located at the Culver Road Armory, a former military facility turned popular retail plaza and a staple of the Rochester community. Named for the trademark scent worn by Asher’s grandmother,
Peppermint Boutique features an eclectic, vintage-inspired inventory that includes a wide variety of casual wear and jewelry as well as a growing collection of locally inspired items, such as a white, lilac-covered pillow that reads: “Someone in Rochester loves me.”
From the boutique’s sophisticated, industrial layout, which blends well with Rochester’s understated, creative vibe, a person might assume forty-two-year-old entrepreneur Asher is a Rochester native, but she is not. Originally from India, then later, Oman, Asher came to the United States at eighteen to attend college at Buffalo State University, where she earned her bachelor of science degree in communication design in 2005. Later, she attended Rochester Institute of Technology and in 2008 completed the master of fine arts degree program in industrial design.
For Asher, whose master’s thesis focused on the relationship between architecture and clothing (“packaging for the body”), opening a clothing business was a crucial leap after realizing a career in corporate packaging would not align with her long-term goals.
“I am not meant for a cubicle,” says Asher. “I wanted to work on my own and to be able to make decisions when they felt right. I did not want to rely on a corporate chain to say yes or no, and I wanted to be able to take my dog to work.”
When Peppermint Boutique first opened in 2012 at its original location, a 400-square-foot space on Park Avenue, the landlord offered Asher a short-term lease in case the fledgling business could not get off the ground. However, that turned out to be unnecessary. “On the day the store opened, I made [enough money] to cover three months of rent,” Asher says.
From day one, Peppermint Boutique has prioritized personal touch. “I pride myself in knowing my customers by name as well as what they have purchased. We have a sixty-eight percent retention rate on our customers, and most have shopped with us at least twice,” says Asher.
As Asher, who started Peppermint Boutique at twenty-five, has grown, so has both the business and its loyal clientele. “My customers have aged with me. They still shop here and bring their kids here. So, for me, it feels good to know I am growing with them.”
And it is not just the customer base who benefits from Asher’s entrepreneurial acumen. Asher is also committed to growing Peppermint Boutique’s influence within the local community. This often takes the form of pop-up events like the THEMATA artisan markets as well as collaborations with the Corn Hill Arts Festival and various Finger Lakes wineries.
“We continue to show up for the community in various places,” says Asher. “We give more back than [big box] stores. Any small business is—collectively—giving more [back to the community] than a large corporation.”
But success also requires a resolute team. At Peppermint Boutique, Asher supervises six employees, many of whom have worked for the company for three or more years. In addition, Asher employs a social media manager to accelerate the store’s online presence and assist with digital branding.
Smiling, Asher reflects on how advertising has changed since the company’s 2012 inception. “I started Peppermint Boutique when there was no Instagram. I did guerrilla marketing. I would throw up flyers, and I was always thinking about how I was going to spread the name around,” says Asher. She adds, “A lot of the business in the first year and a half was word-of-mouth.”
In case managing one small business was not enough, Asher, an indefatigable entrepreneur, started a second company, Bonesteel Wine & Spirits, in April. After passing her sommelier exams, Asher embarked on this new endeavor when her Peppermint Boutique landlord reached out to her about a commercial rental opportunity in Victor.
But even now, with two businesses under her belt, Asher has no intention of slowing down. Ever since its recent expansion from 1,400 to 3,000 square feet, Peppermint Boutique has carried an increasingly diverse selection of merchandise. “We follow less trends and focus more on what looks good on each body type,” says Asher. “Since we expanded, we can now stock more brands and variety in sizing.”
Asher believes that as a business owner, it is important to pay attention to what is happening societally. “Politics is very interlinked to fashion. When there is a Democrat in office, fashion tends to be more conservative. When there is a Republican in office, fashion leans louder. People use clothing to retaliate and resist or to stand out and make a statement.”
Peppermint Boutique is also an ardent supporter of local diversity efforts. “Our focus is on independent artists or smaller local producers. We try to feature products from businesses that are minority-owned.”
As for the future of Peppermint Boutique, Asher is still working that out. “If we get to twenty years [in business], I will be happy. Peppermint Boutique is a grounding Rochester store, and it is accessible for people. At the end of the day,” says Asher, “you find your niche, you find your market, you know who your customers are, and you know what they are looking for.”
This article originally appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of (585).
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