Brands B Good brings good vibes and American products to Church Street

Vanessa Youngman and Luke Baker are betting on the future of Church Street, despite the crime and despite the construction.

The young couple, Youngman is 28 and Baker is 31, opened their store, Brands B Good, on Dec. 13, with their own brands of fleece and wool clothing and blankets, plus mittens, candles, socks and other products primarily from U.S. makers. Baker said the couple is talking to other Burlington businesses and makers to explore how they might collaborate for both of their benefits.

“Quite frankly, we’re nobodies, we just opened the doors,” Baker said. “Just to get some traction, we really want to team up with a charity-based event and work with local makers to provide a store on Church Street. That’s the whole idea behind Brands B Good. We want to support brands that are doing good things in their industries and communities, so when you come in here, everything you buy is a well-made product coming from a good company you can feel good about.”

There’s a connection to the founder of The Vermont Flannel Company

The feel-good idea comes from Baker’s father, Mark, president and founder of The Vermont Flannel Company, which has a store just down Church Street from Brands B Good. Luke Baker managed Vermont Flannel’s Church Street store for several years before breaking out on his own with his fiancé, Vanessa.

“We’re bringing this (idea) out of the grave in honor of my old man,” Baker said. “This is a concept he had, but he spent his whole life growing Vermont Flannel.”

From door-to-door salesman to Church Street store owner

Baker was selling solar installations door-to-door for Sunrun when the opportunity to open a store on Church Street came up. After Sunrun pulled out of Vermont, he was having to drive to surrounding states to find prospects, which was not conducive to family life with a toddler at home.

“I was already thinking I have to figure out something else,” Baker said. “We thought about it a day or two. This is the concept that came out. We got excited about it. I haven’t felt excited about work in a long time. You only live once. This is one of those opportunities that if we didn’t do it, I’m sure we would always wonder where we would be if we had done it.”

Youngman is confident that Brands B Good will have no trouble finding new inventory for the store once it gets rolling.

“You walk into any farmers’ market in Burlington, or anywhere in Vermont, and you have all these cute mom and pop shops but they aren’t able to afford the rent on Church Street,” Youngman said. “Let’s get it on Church Street. Let’s get it in a brick-and-mortar store. Let’s get your name out there. This is an opportunity to get small businesses in Burlington on Church Street, and we’re that helping hand.”