Correction: This version has been updated to correct the name of the company that owns the Village at Myrtle Grove shopping center.

A family that has owned Hallmark stores in Wilmington and nearby communities for more than 30 years has expanded its business again.

The owners of Kendall’s Hallmark stores leased two additional spaces in the Village at Myrtle Grove shopping center to open their fourth Alayna’s Boutique, a business that sells women’s clothing, accessories, jewelry and other items. The boutique is adjacent to the Kendall's Hallmark location in the center, 5613 Carolina Beach Road.

“We noticed that customers on that side of town were just really excited about our products,” said Rajul Moose, co-owner of Kendall’s Hallmark and Alayna’s Boutique stores with her father, Kirit Khajanchi. “The boutique has brought in a lot of the younger generation that doesn’t necessarily feel like they would go to a Hallmark store for any reason, but once they’re in, they see how different we are, how many things we carry that not the typical Hallmark store carries.”

Moose said her family owns five Kendall’s Hallmark stores, two in Wilmington, one in Leland, one in Jacksonville and one in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with Alayna’s Boutique stores located next to the four Hallmark locations in North Carolina.

They opened the University Centre Alayna’s Boutique next to the Kendall's Hallmark there in October 2012, followed by the Leland location in 2013. The Village at Myrtle Grove location opened in November in 3,400 square feet of space. Eastern Carolinas Commercial Real Estate is the brokerage in charge of leasing for the center, owned by Ziff Properties Inc.

While the boutiques are considered separate businesses from the Hallmark locations, the owners designed the stores with cut-through space so shoppers can roam from one to the other to browse, and pay for their purchases at registers in either store, Moose said.

She said the boutiques, named after her daughter, have helped the local business succeed at a time when fewer people are sending greeting cards.

“Hallmark is really intrigued by what we’ve done. We’ve had a lot of visitors because they’ve noticed our growth,” Moose said. “In a tight economy, we’ve done well.”

She said she believes the success of Alayna’s Boutique can be traced in part to a comfortable, service-oriented atmosphere, affordable prices (tops start at $25, for example) and offering brands with great reputations.

“Our newest thing is Brighton, and it has been amazing,” said Moose of the response to a brand whose products include jewelry, sunglasses and leather handbags. “There’s so many choices, you’ve got to find what women like.”