Hay Baby opens in Havre

Hay Baby, a new baby and maternity boutique located at 115 Fourth Ave., opened in Havre Monday, hoping to fill part of the void left by Herbergers.

Hay Baby Owner MacKenzie Zubatch said the shop has already garnered good feedback in its first three days of operation.

"A lot of really happy mothers, grandmothers, just people coming in to check it out," Zubatch said.

She said the opening of the store has been in the works since March and, with the pandemic still disrupting supply chains, setting it up has been something of a drawn-out affair, but she's happy to finally get going.

"It's been a long process, especially since COVID-19, but I'm excited to have it up and running," she said.

Zubatch said Hay Baby's goal is to provide high-quality baby products for young mothers and their children.

She said the store is focused on children 2 and younger, but she's hoping to expand to older children eventually.

She said the shop will have a constantly rotating supply of clothes and unique gift items, and eventually she hopes to obtain a space that will allow the store to start hosting baby showers.

Zubatch said she's a mother of two boys and has worked with kids for a huge part of her life, and after getting burnt out from her last job decided that opening this store was what she wanted to do.

She said she wanted to come up with a name for the store that acknowledged the town's history as a farming community and eventually settled on Hay Baby, a name she got a kick out of.

"I came up with a bunch of ideas in my mind and I thought, 'How funny would it be to answer the phone and say, Hay Baby,'" she said.

The store has a large chalk board where children can draw and have fun so their parents can shop while Zubatch keeps the children entertained.

High on the store's walls are pictures of local newborns and their mothers, pictures that will continue to change as new children are born in town, she said.

"I just love kids, I love babies," she said. "I just think those early stages of parenthood are so important and so special that I want to celebrate that for people."

She said she wanted to thank her friends and family for being a great support system and helping her when she doubted herself.