Parkside Harbor LLC

Parkside Harbor is a women's clothing boutique owned by Catherine Mascitti. The idea of Parkside Harbor was born out of Catherine’s love of fashion and need for a boutique that was fashion-forward but still included the basics and staples needed in an everyday wardrobe. She wanted a place that empowered women to wear whatever they wanted, while still being able to look professional. It was never her dream to own a boutique, however, sometimes life doesn't always go the way you planned and now she has a brand-new dream becoming a reality.

Catherine’s fashion journey really started in high school where she was lucky to have attended sewing and design classes and followed this passion into college. She ended up majoring in Fashion Design and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Illinois Institute of Art Chicago. During this time, she interned in Los Angeles where she learned different aspects of the fashion world - from small-time manufacturing and development to high-end over-the-top styling. After college, Catherine worked for some big brands and made the leap to work with a small business back in Chicago. It was in this company she learned a lot about running a business and credits her own success with this time. Jump forward to a few later when Catherine and her husband moved to Jacksonville where she ultimately started Parkside Harbor as an online clothing store with the hopes to open a brick-and-mortar store. After a few years of growth online, Catherine decided it was time to go all in!

It was at this time Catherine decided to enlist the services of the SBDC at UNF. She met with SBDC business consultant Nancy Boyle early in 2023, who helped Catherine with the opening of the retail storefront in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville. Some of the obstacles Catherine needed to overcome to be truly successful in her new store involved her financing and staffing. That’s where the SBDC stepped in to help with financial analysis and projections for the build-out of the storefront and team development for staff needs.

Nancy is proud of her client’s momentum and had this to say, “Catherine already had a successful online store selling upscale women’s clothing when she came to the SBDC.  She had had a pop-up shop for two months at the Town Center over the summer and her sales had increased by 1000% so she decided to open a retail store in the San Marco area.  We worked on her business plan to obtain a loan to build out the store location.  Since potential loan financing for the build-out was taking too long, her parents loaned her the money to get the store ready to open.  Parkside Harbor, LLC opened in April 2023.  She’s had several successful months since her opening and looks to be on track to meet all her sales goals. Working with Catherine and her mother, Geri, was a real pleasure.  They were both very eager to do whatever it took to get the store open.  Catherine’s energy and focus enabled her to stay on track and open the store on her timeline.  The store itself is light and airy with lovely displays of clothing.  It’s a very inviting shopping environment.”  

Catherine says of her assistance from the SBDC:

Catherine Mascitti, owner of Parkside Harbor, LLC