Aida’s has let owner pursue dreams and raise her daughter

One of Jamila Sabha’s most vivid memories of her mother dates to 2000, when Aida Sabha was moving her namesake store to a new location in Old Town.

“I was watching her carry things up and down the stairs, getting ready for the grand opening, and I remember her not sleeping,” she said. “I remember asking her was she going to nap? She worked round the clock to get things ready.”

Jamila, now 19 and an employee of Aida’s, said nothing has changed.

“Oh my gosh, she works harder now. She continues to amaze me.”

According to Jamila, her mother often arrives at Aida’s at 7 a.m. to bake cakes and bread for the small cafe upstairs, then runs the cash register, waits on customers, supervises employees and does anything else that needs doing in the gift shop below before going home about 8 p.m.

The older Sabha, whose first name is pronounced “I-ee-da,” said business runs in her family, though she never expected to be putting that background to use here. She came to Wichita as a high school exchange student in 1979 from Tlalnepantla, Mexico, one of Wichita’s sister cities, where her family has interest in textiles, silver and restaurants. Her plan was to attend Southeast High for a year, improve her English and then travel the world.

Instead, she got married.

After working as a nanny for a couple of years, she opened her first store as a 250-square-foot operation in 1993 in the Farm & Art Market Building, which now houses the Museum of World Treasures. At first, she imported and sold silver, using her family connections, eventually expanding her range of merchandise and space to nearly 10 times what she was first able to offer.

She moved to her current location, which has about 4,000 square feet, because she wanted her own storefront while remaining in Old Town. Her inventory has continued to evolve. Sabha said she initially sold rugs, lamps and other home decor, but now focuses more on gifts and accessories.

She said her sales have grown along with the popularity of lines she carries, which include Vera Bradley, Brighton and Crabtree & Evelyn. Purses, jewelry, shoes, perfume, teas, bags, sunglasses, candles and more beckon from every aisle and corner of the store. She doesn’t sell much silver anymore, but she does carry pewter goods with the insignias of Kansas colleges.

“I look for different tastes than my own,” she said of her visits to buyers’ marts. “That’s why I take my daughter. She speaks to a younger crowd.”

Sabha said she carries a few items for men – but points out that her store is a good place for them to find presents for women.

Sabha said she started Aida’s because it allowed her to take care of her daughter as a single mother, bringing her to work from her youngest days.

“I’m just very blessed to be able to do that.”

Jamila, who’s pursuing a double major in international business and economics at Wichita State University, said she’s learned a couple of crucial things from her mother.

One is that “people come first.”

“You have to care about people and get to know them before you can sell them a handbag,” Jamila said. “Before a dollar, we’re all people.”

The other is simply about what’s possible.

“She raised me as a single mom. She’s the cook, the mom, the dad – she does everything. You don’t need anyone to do what you want to do.”

This story was originally published February 18, 2015 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Aida’s has let owner pursue dreams and raise her daughter."