St. Patrick’s Day is recognized by many students in green shirts on campus, but the celebration goes even further at Celtic Tides.
Celtic Tides is a business on South Jefferson Street in Downtown Lexington. The shop sells Scottish and Irish items ranging from kilts and jewelry to soda breads and candies.
The store has served the community for the past 27 years. The current owners, Mary Jo and John Morman, took the business over in 2005.
“When we started, there was a mixture of authentic Celtic things here and a lot of items made in China. So when we took over, we decided we were going to do the absolute very best we can to make sure everything is authentically Celtic,” said Mary Jo Morman.
Mary Jo Morman said she believes almost every item in the store comes from somewhere in Ireland and Scotland or is made by a trusted Celtic vendor in America.
She said Celtic Tides prides itself on its authenticity. “We’re not all shiny and bright with lots of stainless steel and what have you. This was the kind of store I would have gone into growing up back in Ireland,” she said.
She said the Mormans have seen Lexington adapt over the years. Mary Jo Morman recalled how the town used to be filled with business offices, and the small business that did exist didn’t accept credit cards.
“When we first came here, we very often heard people say that ‘we don’t shop downtown because there is no parking and everything is so expensive,’” said Morman. “Well, in actual fact, there’s 700 parking spaces downtown, but you have to be willing to walk more than half a block to get where you’re going. Also, you pay for the experience of a small business, and you’re going to get people who remember your name and who you are.”
The Mormans go out of their way to find Celtic products that an individual is searching for, they said.
“If you’ve seen something [Celtic] online or in a magazine, and you want to know what it is, we’re more than happy to explain it to you, and we’ll try and get it in the shop if you want to. We just try to be as helpful and accommodating and neighborly as we can,” said Mary Jo Morman.
The Mormans’ two dogs, Aoife and Casey, are also part of the Celtic Tides experience. The Scottish Terrier and Yorkshire Terrier represent common breeds from the Celtic area.
“They get very cranky if you walk past and don’t come in. If folks come in and have kids that are afraid of dogs, we’re happy to put them in the office away from the front, but mostly everybody loves the dogs and when they circle around they’re quite happy with them. We often get people who just come in to see the dogs, not interested in shopping,” said Mary Jo Morman.
Dogs aside, Morman said that community is at the heart of Celtic Tides.
“We don’t have customers here, we have friends who shop.”
