Locals will soon have a chance to Shop Lake Highlands when they're in Lakewood.

Based on the recent news from White Rock Coffee, they actually already can – but soon there will be two stops to make.

Tony Doles and David Farris, co-owners of T Hee Greetings & Gifts, recently shared the news that the popular boutique gift store is expanding.

And it looks like they'll be landing in the same Lakewood shopping center as the new WRC drive-thru.

According to Farris, the recent ups-and-downs in the potential sale at LH Plaza contributed to their decision to expand.

"To be quite honest, it is what started our process of looking around," says Farris. "We heard a lot of chatter concerning a few of the potential bidders and their plans for the shopping center, which would have been counter productive to our future."

"As we were finding Hillside Village, the deal for Retail Connection to buy LH Plaza was on the table, and we all but walked away from Hillside as things in LH were looking so positive."

Based on feedback from T Hee customers, however, they learned a second location was a good idea for another reason.

"We decided to do an electronic survey to the customers on our email list, and we found that an overwhelming majority would still shop at LH Plaza – even if we had a store in the Lakewood area."

"In the end we realized that folks simply don’t like to cross Northwest Highway or Central Expressway if they don’t have to, so our Lake Highlands neighbors will still shop the LH Plaza store, while we expect to build a new customer base at Hillside."

And the economic forecast doesn't seem to be an issue. In fact, according to Doles it's actually working in their favor.

"In some ways we're taking advantage of the economy," he says. "Landlords are sitting on a lot of inventory that they want to move, and they're more willing now to make a 'deal,' which makes it affordable not only for us to lease month-to-month, but to move in and set up as well."

And how will the pair manage, in terms of more work, more staff and less time on their hands?

"While we will each go back and forth between the stores, Tony will remain the center square at Lake Highlands," says Farris, "while I'll be spending most of my time at Hillside."

Lake Highlands staff might make the trip to pick up a few more hours, but since the Lakewood store will be much larger, odds are good that they'll be looking for a few new employees, too.

Regular T Hee patrons know that the expansion is nothing new for this team.

After launching, and recently selling, a wholesale company that Farris also owned, we were left wondering if this new, second location will really be enough to keep Doles and Farris busy.

"Well," says Farris, "since my plans to turn the former Walmart space into a pole dancing studio have failed, I've decided to stick with the gift store industry for now!"

"But next month we will be launching a brand new website, which will serve as the online version of T Hee Greetings."

"It's the next step in expanding our reach nationally," he says. "It will also allow us to carry some additional products that don’t make sense in a store front environment."

Watch for more news about the site coming soon. In the meantime, the Lake Highlands store is open (and staying open) in LH Plaza at 9661 Audelia, Ste. 110.

T Hee Greetings & Gifts opens Monday through Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Weekdays the store is open until 6:00 p.m., while Saturdays they close at 5:00 p.m.