~by Boris Ladwig
Downtown Nashville features a long-running shop defined by its split personality: On one side, customers can browse leather jackets and cologne. On the other, racks of cheeky T-shirts and shelves of humorous gifts make people laugh out loud.
A few weeks ago, the store, Male Instinct, got a women-centered counterpart, only steps away. It features a similarly split personality, or, as the owners call it, a classy and a sassy side.
Together, the shops form something like a matching set built on the same idea: Shopping should be enjoyable —for the shoppers and the people behind the counter.
Just two years after leaving corporate careers and buying a single storefront in Brown County’s busy tourist district, the husband-and-wife team behind the stores, Dave and Stacey Stout, opened their second shop in response to steady customer requests. Together, the stores reflect both the rhythms of a tourist town and a business philosophy shaped less by retail tradition than by instinct, experimentation, and a simple goal: give people a reason to enjoy themselves.
“Everybody’s here with a smile on their face, so that puts a smile on our face,” said Stacey Stout.
“If they don’t come in with a smile, they usually leave smiling,” her husband added.
They might smile about a poster that depicts a They might smile about a poster that depicts a Sasquatch and the affirmation, “Believe in yourself even when no one else does.” Or a sign that reads, “Don’t worry, our staff is accustomed to dumb questions.”
The owners said seeing the customers have a good time, whether repeat customers from Nashville or first-time visitors from far away, makes their jobs enjoyable—and a sharp contrast to their prior careers.
The Stouts had corporate jobs and lived in Fishers, but Dave Stout said the town grew very quickly—too much for their liking—so a little over three years ago they decided to move to Nashville, where his parents lived.
Dave Stout said he was ready to semi-retire, but the couple also wanted to be part of the community. They started looking around and found Male Instinct, at 75 S. Van Buren St., around the time that then-owner Joanne Rozzi was looking for a successor.
“We just kept coming back to this shop,” Stout said. “We loved it. It was our favorite shop in town. So we were like, ‘Let’s just buy it. Let’s go for it.’”
The couple added some upgrades, including new items and lines and got to work. Customers kept telling them they like the Male Instinct store’s duality and fun vibe but lamented that no Female Instinct counterpart existed.
“They were like, ‘You got a man cave. We need a babe cave,’” Stacey Stout said.
The couple agreed and, a few weeks ago, began leasing the property at 145 S. Van Buren, which formerly housed the Sweetwater Gallery for decades but had been sitting empty for a while. Just before Memorial Day weekend, the couple softly opened Female Instinct, which, like its counterpart, features classy retail goods such as jackets, purses and hats, and sassy ones such as humorous T-shirts, a ball cap that reads, “It’s not me. It’s you,” and a coaster with the words, “My wife and I decided we don’t want children. We’ll be telling them tonight at dinner.”
The customer experience—and the banter with smiling employees—matters to the business as well as to the owners and staff. And customer feedback plays an important role in product decisions.
Like many Nashville businesses, Male Instinct generates most of its sales during the fall peak and on summer weekends, while the winter slowdown allows the couple to get away for a while.
Dave Stout recently stood near the front of the Male Instinct shop as an employee waited on customers behind the counter. Stout said sales are up this year and, with a grin at the employee, jokingly credited his great management skills.
“We’ve got a great team,” he said. “They just have fun with it, too, and we treat everybody like family.”
Employee Connie McGath has worked for Male Instinct for about 14 years. She says she does a bit of everything, from sales to restocking and cleaning, and whatever else is needed to keep the shop running smoothly.
McGath’s twin sister, Bonnie Followell, also works in the shops, which, McGath said, has created some humorous interactions with customers.
The Brown County native, who has worked in other retail stores, said she enjoys the work. She credits the Stouts with helping to keep the work fun, which supports employee retention and repeat customers.
“If your atmosphere is healthy and good, that means a lot,” she said.
A few days earlier, the Stouts had invited employees and spouses to their house for a Sunday dinner. McGath said it fosters a family atmosphere and helps new employees meet the rest of the crew. And, Stacey Stout said, it helps the owners show their appreciation.
“Everybody’s pitching to help us build this,” she said.
After decades in the corporate world that felt like a grind, Dave Stout said running two fun stores in a fun town is a different experience. Not having a boss helps, too. “You don’t have to be on a Teams meeting at 5:30 tonight … about a meeting that could have been an email,” he said.
As if he meant to prove the point, a customer walked in and asked how the owners liked his T-shirt, which displayed a mock political ad: Cheech and Chong for president 2028.
“How do you like that,” the customer asked. “Don’t we all just need to chill out?”
Dave Stout agreed. “Take a deep breath and calm down,” he said.
That’s exactly what Stacey Stout likes about running the shop.
“The customer interactions, the giggles, the laughs,” she said.
The pace of life in Nashville may be slower than in Fishers, the couple said, but it has brought them more meaning.
“We’ve been very fortunate, blessed to be able to do this,” Dave Stout said. •