Yorktown is getting a new party supply store that promises a quality of service that cannot be matched by big box party stores.
Party Essentials is the fourth business venture from Jirapong “J” Darncharnjitt, who also owns two Thai restaurants and a home security alarm company on the Peninsula.
Darncharnjitt saw the need for a locally owned and run party supply store after a particularly burdensome trip to a major chain, during which he had to wait in line nearly an hour to buy some balloons for his daughter’s birthday party.
That trip and Darncharnjitt’s criticism of “ridiculously high prices” at major party chains, inspired him to look into opening his own party store in Yorktown.
Party Essentials will stock all types of standard party items, including balloons, paper and plastic dinnerware, costumes and seasonal decorations.
In addition to themed party goods based on popular Disney movies, Darncharnjitt also said the store will carry less expensive alternatives for budget-conscious families.
The main advantage of a big box party store over a local business is having the physical space for more wares, but Darncharnjitt thinks Party Essentials will be able to counter this by having extensive catalogues from party supply and costume manufacturers on site for shoppers.
“We’ll do a purchase order once a week, and shoppers can get anything out of the catalogue that way,” Darncharnjitt said.
Besides offering better and more personalized service, Darncharnjitt hopes to be able to offer better prices through several discount programs he plans to institute.
Among these will be an active military discount, a veteran discount and a discount for educators.
Darncharnjitt also noticed parent-teacher associations are major patrons of party supply stores for the many events they host throughout the year. In response, he has developed an affiliate program with York County School Division to keep track of the spending of organizations affiliated with the division and offer a quarterly 5 percent kickback to directly to benefit the schools.
Party Essential’s grand opening is taking place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, with the York County Chamber of Commerce performing the ribbon cutting at noon.
The opening will include raffles and giveaways throughout the day, in addition to face painting, balloon artists and free snacks and drinks.
“Once I got the idea [for a party store] I just asked myself, why isn’t there one in Yorktown?” Darncharnjitt said. “I think people are going to like having one in the area.”
Party Essentials is located at 4909 George Washington Memorial Highway.
