What a Girl Wants opening on Merrick Road in Wantagh

A popular locally owned women's clothing boutique will close after the Mother's Day rush and reopen in a new space later in the month — with a fresh focus. 

Carissa Alfieri, owner of What a Girl Wants, says she will refocus her shop — known for its trendy women's clothing and accessories — on personalized gifting when it reopens in late May in a new Wantagh location. The store opened in a tucked-away spot in a busy shopping center on Wantagh Avenue in 2021. With her current lease ending soon, Alfieri says she's moving to a strip mall on Merrick Road  for better exposure. 

"I'm taking the opportunity to embrace the change," says Alfieri, of Seaford. "We'll be focused more on our customized, high-end gifts for the home and special occasions." Currently a part of her business model, Alfieri says, is a smaller station for wedding gifts that is "our best section in the store." The new store will add stations for baby gifts and items for the home, birthdays and more. Clothing will still be available. 

"On a Saturday morning, everyone runs in on their way to a baby shower, and we can make gift baskets with greeting cards," she says. "They sign the card in the store and run out to the event." 

Alfieri will also offer engraving to personalize gifts. An on-site machine can add custom messages to jewelry, wineglasses, dishes and other items. Prices vary per item, but a necklace, for example, may run $50, plus engraving. 

The May reopening returns What A Girl Wants to its Merrick Road roots. The shop was on Merrick Road in Seaford before it moved to Wantagh Avenue, where it's been for five years. The shop opened a second location, inside Marissa’s Brow & Beauty Bar Merrick, last April. 

Prices at What a Girl Wants range from jewelry for $18 to some dresses that sell for about $200.

What a Girl Wants; opening at 2947 Merrick Rd., Wantagh, in May