The order of events explains the shop. Tara Simmons-Brewster, a lifelong Covington resident, opened the florist side of the business at 331 West Main Street in June 2022; the formalwear followed that January. She told Cardinal News she was driven to do it by her mother, Connie, who died in October 2021 and had always wanted to open a boutique on Main Street. The Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism cut the ribbon on the store in late August 2022. Michelle McCoy Shumaker works as the shop’s designer.
The practical result is that the dress, the tux and the flowers are all one errand. Under that one roof, according to the store’s own listings and its brands’ retailer locators:
- Prom, pageant and homecoming gowns from Ashley Lauren, Johnathan Kayne, Jovani and Tiffany Designs
- Tuxedo rentals through Jim’s Formal Wear
- Bridal, bridesmaid and mother-of-the-bride dresses
- A full-service florist and balloons — the corsage and boutonnière side of prom night, from the same counter that sold the gown
Where this is
Covington is an independent city of 5,737 people on the Jackson River, close to the West Virginia line, and the second least-populous independent city in Virginia after Norton. It sits in the Alleghany Highlands, a region that also takes in Alleghany, Bath, Craig and Highland counties and the towns of Clifton Forge and Iron Gate. Main Street is three blocks from the Smurfit Westrock paper mill, which employs more than 900 people and has been in the city since 1899. Downtown is a short run off Interstate 64.
The teenagers within easy reach of the store are mostly at Alleghany High School on Mountaineer Drive — the school that absorbed Covington High in the fall of 2023 and took a cougar as the mascot for the merged student body — and at Bath County High School in Hot Springs, which enrolled 182 students in grades 8–12 in 2024–25. In classes that size, two of the same gown at the same prom is a live possibility, so it is worth asking the shop what it has already sold into your school before you commit.
The alternative is Roanoke
Jovani’s own Virginia listings put its next-closest retailers in the Roanoke area. Roanoke is roughly 55 road miles from Covington, an hour and change down U.S. 220 or out I-64 to I-81. That is the comparison for anyone in the Highlands: a stop on Main Street, or most of a Saturday in the car and a second trip later for whatever needs fixing.
If you are making the drive in
Downtown Covington has gained more than a dozen shops and restaurants in recent years, and the city was named an Advancing Virginia Main Street community in early 2025. Recent additions include Ray’s Sweet Shoppe & Poutinerie, a retro ice cream diner; Inkazteca Tienda Latina; and Diva Room, a clothing and accessories boutique. Mountain Rush, a family entertainment center with laser tag, arcade games and a golf simulator, occupies about 16,000 square feet of a three-story Main Street building. Two public EV chargers went in downtown, each able to handle two vehicles at once.
Before you go
Call (540) 962-8424 first. This is a small operation in a small city, and Simmons-Brewster’s full-time work is real estate. The store’s website is still a placeholder page with the address and phone number on it, so its Facebook and Instagram accounts are where new gowns actually get posted.