Emily Drobnock. Portrait courtesy of Emily Drobnock.
Emily Drobnock is living her little girl dream.
From the time she was small and her dad still operated a gift shop in downtown Hershey called Gifts To Go, visions of baubles and knickknacks danced in her dreams, even as she pursued a teaching degree.
She gave it a go as a teacher for a short time, but wasn’t happy. So, she sat down with her parents to have the, “I don’t think this is the right career for me,” conversation. She said she wanted to create a gift shop.
To her surprise, they responded positively, telling her that this was the time to do it—before she had bigger commitments like a mortgage and a family. She dove in.
Knowing she wanted a shop on the main drag of Hershey, Chocolate Avenue, Emily and her dad took a walk and saw the spot. She wrote a letter expressing her interest, and it seemed the heavens intervened. The tenant was moving out and the space was hers.
Shelves from her dad’s store—which closed in the late 1990s when she was 6 years old—still lined the walls of her family’s garage. She and her family repurposed them along with other secondhand gems, and within a month of finding her location, her first shop, Knock Knock Boutique, was open for business with necklaces and bracelets dangling from the walls and shelves, along with earrings, gifts, skincare products and other fanciful delights.
In October, Knock Knock celebrated its ninth birthday. In the meantime, Drobnock bought the building, opened a second Knock Knock in 2016 on Market Street in Elizabethtown, opened the clothing and gift boutique Bella Sera next door to the Hershey Knock Knock in 2019, and, more recently, turned apartments in both the Hershey and Elizabethtown buildings into Airbnbs.
As if running three stores and a handful of Airbnbs weren’t enough, in 2021, Drobnock also joined three partners to buy into another piece of her childhood—the Hershey School of Dance, which had been run by a foundation whose board no longer wanted to operate a dance school. She continues teaching classes there.
Drobnock has help in these ventures. Her husband, Matt Carraher, a former band director at Central Dauphin High School, now works alongside her full-time along with running the indoor percussion team for Hempfield High School.
“It definitely took a while to figure out each other’s strengths,” Drobnock said. “For seven years, I did it by myself, so just being able to give up some control—once you work through that, then it’s OK. Delegating is OK. I’m learning that as time goes on.”
Drobnock and Carraher are also new parents. They have a 20-month-old, David, and a newborn, Alexander.
Who’s minding the stores while these busy young parents are tending to their brood?
Her staff fluctuates between 15 and 25 employees, depending on how many hours each can give each week. She has three employees who work 30 to 40 hours a week and some who work only five hours here and there to fill in gaps. College students help in summers and year-round in Elizabethtown.
Kaitlyn Hartlaub has worked in the shops nearly full-time for five years now.
“She [Drobnock] is a reliable and consistent owner to work for, especially with a growing family now,” Hartlaub said.
She, too, will soon be on a maternity leave, and she takes off in the summers to manage the Palmyra swimming pool and coach the Palmyra Sharks Aquatic Club. She also coaches swimming at Lower Dauphin High School.
“It’s exciting to see all of the loyal customers through the years,” Hartlaub noted. “They love to shop with us because it’s unique.”
Hearts & Souls
Drobnock’s goal was to offer affordable jewelry and gifts.
“I hated going to the outlets or other places and things were so crazy overpriced for costume jewelry,” she said.
Customers can find all kinds of jewelry and gifts for under $20 at her shops. She also likes to offer customers things they can’t find at the malls and outlets.
“We’ve been known for our ‘Hey, look at me pieces,’” she said, adding, “We want to sprinkle in some crazy things.”
Knock Knock’s other specialty is helping customers create individual looks for specific events.
“My favorite is when people are coming in on weekends, and they have events they have to stylize for,” said Nev Puryear, a senior at Lebanon Valley College who works at the stores while also interning in marketing and strategizing with the Hershey Company.
She noted that her favorites are accessorizing customers for Halloween and date nights.
Drobnock also recognizes the power of social media—her staff helps create reels and posts on Facebook and Instagram—and COVID helped push her online presence for shopping, as well. Particularly for the Hershey store, which entertains many tourists in the summer, online shopping has allowed them to remain customers even after they leave town.
If the exotic, 60-plus-year-old plant that her grandparents brought home from their honeymoon—which now reaches to the ceiling in Drobnock’s home—is any indication of the great job she does as a caretaker and a nurturer, her businesses are in great hands.
“My dad and I always say the passion is different,” Drobnock said. “The people who have successful businesses are the ones who really pour their hearts and souls into it.”
Knock Knock Boutiques are located at 110 W. Chocolate Ave., Hershey, and 8 S. Market St., Elizabethtown with Bella Sera Boutique located a door over in Hershey. For more information, visit www.shopknockknock.com and www.shopbellasera.com.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
