Will Milk Money Usher in a New Indie Retail Era of Newbury Street?

From the newly opened second location of Milk Money, a fashion and accessories shop at 172 Newbury Street, owner Nash Yacoub can see the building where she had her first job as a women’s apparel buyer three decades ago. She loved working on the bustling block but never dreamed she’d own a boutique amid the designer stores.It was a journey for Yacoub to get where she is. She launched the Boston-based fashion magazine Platinum in the late 1990s and ran her own PR and sales agency for nearly two decades. After closing that business, the idea for Milk Money percolated. “The name stems from when I was a kid and how I would use my milk money to buy stickers and lip gloss,” recalls Yacoub, who initially wanted to create an online store catering to women’s lifestyle interests: clothing, accessories, décor, and gifts. Offering stylish items at various prices, the website launched in 2019 from Yacoub’s Sharon home.

Online sales were so successful that Yacoub began welcoming people into her home to peruse the selection. During COVID, she emblazoned a van with “Milk Money” and made deliveries, including candy and flowers as a thank you to customers for their support. In 2022, she opened a brick-and-mortar boutique on Central Street in Wellesley, where her repeat business flourished.

Opening an outpost on Newbury Street had long appealed to the entrepreneurial-minded Yacoub. But “the numbers were too crazy,” she says. Eventually, she decided to seriously explore retail lease options, discussing terms with the owners of her current space—but after several rounds of discussions, they were at an impasse. “They thought our offer was too low, and I didn’t want to have to change our prices to make rent.”

Available at Milk Money, a lemon-hued ice bucket ($78) / Photo by Nina Gallant

A few months later, however, the building owners accepted Yacoub’s offer. Did it represent a shift in Newbury Street’s long-held leasing patterns favoring national luxury retailers? There’s no clear answer. For some building owners—primarily long-term—“the emphasis is on keeping retail space full and ensuring consistent cash flow even if that means agreeing to a lower rent,” says Eric Shabshelowitz, vice president of commercial real estate at Cabot & Company. However, he notes that landlords who purchased buildings recently typically prefer “the ‘strongest’ tenant, which generally means a well-established regional, national, or international brand with strong credit.”

Whatever the impetus, it seems Yacoub lucked out. And that means we luck out to have Milk Money’s array of clothing from brands such as Favorite Daughter and Pistola, along with its elevated home and gift selection. “Since Barneys left, there’s been a real hole in the market there,” says Yacoub, noting that customers will find Assouline books and L’objet’s luxury tabletop collection. They can also expect Milk Money’s signature candy cart, stocked with Snickers, Butterfingers, and lollipops—just one element Yacoub incorporates to sweeten the experience for her customers.

A version of this story appeared in the print edition of the May 2025 issue with the headline, “Retail Rebellion.”