Inside the narrow, 1,200-square-foot space, the boutique is loaded with carefully coordinated displays of men’s and women’s clothing and accessories. Display fixtures spill with merchandise. Patrons who stop by often do so just to chat and eye the new fashions.

Lonnie Brown and Gloria “Glo” Williams Brown are the proprietors. They own the building and, for two decades from the late 1970s through most of the 90s, Mr. Brown first ran a private billiard club there, and later, a public pool hall.

He closed it down in 1997 and it stayed vacant until 2003, when, Mrs. Brown said, she decided to open the boutique.

The L&G Boutique has a Web site, www.landgboutique.com, but Mrs. Brown said first-time customers drop in after hearing about it by word of mouth, or after one of several fashion shows the couple produces each year.

The boutique has become a place to shop and to socialize.

For retired state worker Mary Green, the boutique is just across the street, and she visits several times a week. “If they don’t have what I want, they’ll go through catalogs and order it for me and I’ll have it within a week. I like to shop in a neighborhood store and be greeted by a friendly face. I can socialize. Chat. Look around. … They aim to please and they make sure I’m happy.”

The boutique is open from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, and is closed on Sunday and Monday.

When the Browns go on vacation, the shop is shuttered, unless one of their daughters is available.

Longtime customer Tershia Smith said if there’s something she’s looking for, “I’ll go to L&G every week. It has a nice selection of jewelry and I like the styles there.”

Mrs. Smith is owner of J. Smith Bus located near the entrance to the Chesapeake Harbour community and built atop the old Carr’s Beach. “I especially like the hats. I’ve gotten six church hats. I like that you don’t see your outfit on someone else. I don’t see my hats at all at church.”

Mrs. Green said the merchandise is unique, and draws people into the boutique. “People look at this area and think ‘I’m not shopping on Clay Street!’ But, they have to come in and look at Lonnie and Gloria’s merchandise.”

Bowie residents now, both Browns grew up in the Annapolis and Parole communities, attended segregated local schools and graduated from the old Bates High School.

Mrs. Brown, who earned her bachelor of arts degree by attending night school at the University of Maryland, worked for the federal government for 42 years, including the last 12 years with the Department of the Interior.

In addition to running the billiards parlor, Mr. Green, 70, was a supervisory engineer for 32 years with the county Board of Education and is a professional pianist. He was an original member of the Van Dykes band, a local favorite, which performed at Carr’s Beach and at African-American proms and college dances throughout the region.

They have two daughters, Velvet Brungo, 41, a professor at Penn State; and Kristal Brown, 38, a federal employee who lives in Chantilly, Va.

The Clay Street area used to be compared with Harlem in its heyday. It was buzzing with businesses and activities, day and night. “When I was a little girl, I went to the school in what is now the Stanton Center,” Mrs. Brown recalled. “Across the street from here was another pool hall. There were social clubs, funeral parlors, diners and homes where that parking deck stands now.

The nightclubs were up another street. During the day, when I walked to school, all the nightclubs were closed. By the time I was tucked into bed, they opened.”

When she worked for the government, Mrs. Brown often traveled out of town for meetings and conferences, and during her downtime she would go to malls and shop. “I liked going to the boutiques. I was fascinated by unique clothing you wouldn’t see in other places,” she said.

Confined at home for several weeks after foot surgery, she decided it was time to retire and open her dream business.

Her target customer at the boutique is a mature churchgoer. “Our customer is more traditional. My customers are business folks, very conservative. Teachers, retired educators, church folks.” They cater to people ages 40 to 75, although younger ones do come in.

Willa Mae Day, a retired county teacher who taught second grade at Central Elementary School for 45 years, needs lots of good-looking outfits.

Her son is a producer for CBS Paramount Network Television and she occasionally walks the red carpet in Hollywood with him. “Gloria takes her time with me. She will tell me if an outfit is appropriate. She checks the fit and can get things hemmed for me at a minimal price,” Mrs. Day said.

“They go above and beyond to see that I’m satisfied.”

The Browns encouraged various church and club groups to place orders for the special outfits they need for church performances, as communion stewards and for the choirs.

“We have outfitted Eastern Star ladies, church ushers – male and female, and the Elks Club members,” she said. “To keep prices reasonable, we do not charge a full markup on our merchandise.”

“While I’m sitting in church,” Mrs. Brown said with a smile, “ladies lean over and whisper ‘I need a white suit. Can you get me a white suit?’ ”

Wendi Winters is a freelance writer living on the Broadneck Peninsula.