Two Chicks District Co. Opens

Two Chicks and a Hammer, the renovation dream team featured on HGTV’s hit show Good Bones, opens its first boutique today in Bates-Hendricks, next door to the house featured on this week’s episode. Two Chicks District Co. (1531 S. East St.) is more of a four-chick project, though, headed by Kelsy Gray and Alex Howell, close relatives of Good Bones co-hosts Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen E Laine. It’s open Thursday through Sunday.

Formerly a strip club called Sassy Cats, the low-slung building got a full Two Chicks makeover and now gleams with their signature style. Just as Indy is the Crossroads of America, the Two Chicks look is the intersection of different decorating aesthetics—modern, industrial, rustic, urban, with the occasional beachy and traditional accents. Don’t overthink it; it works.

A bistro occupies the front of the store, which explains the bar stools outside in front of an open window. As you approach, notice the original tile on the sidewalk and the street name carved in stone over windows. Inside, a creative rope wall separates the seating area from the bar for all-ages accessibility. Then you move into the merchandise portion of the program. It’s a mix of fun home decor and gifts, like a navy pouch embossed with “Hello Weekend” in gold, a charcuterie board with Swiss-cheese holes, a hammer necklace made by a local jeweler, and rainbow socks that say “Engayged!”

Behind a shelf laden with ceramics and pottery, you’ll find Karen’s Corner, dedicated to items made by the crafty co-host. On the show, she always salvages something from the home before demolition and repurposes it in the new house. Her handiwork in the store includes purple cutting boards, macramé, and ceramic animal figures molded from identical ones she found in a Two Chicks house.

Armchairs, pillows, cake stands, linens, flatware, tables, and lighting round out the rest of the store, along with prints by one of Mina’s favorite artists, Beth Clary Schwier, a painter based at the Stutz. On the right day, you might even score a selfie with the Good Bones stars.