SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – As a young girl who spent her summers in the Al Tahoe neighborhood of South Lake Tahoe, little did Kelly Brosch know that her old stomping ground would lead to her passion and her livelihood.
And now, Kelly is celebrating 20 years of owning her store, GaiaLicious Global Gifts. She will be celebrating that milestone with a two-day party, September 25 and 26 (see schedule below).
The San Francisco native spent the summers of her childhood in South Lake Tahoe at her family’s second home. After going away to college at Long Beach State, where she majored in marketing, Kelly lived in Southern California for a while after graduation, then traveled to Europe and settled in Germany when she met her husband Felix. They married in 1997 and spent the next 11 months backpacking through Southeast Asia. She returned to the United States with Felix in 1998 and bought her parents’ house, the same one she had spent her summers in.
Kelly worked different jobs over the next eight years in South Lake Tahoe, including substitute teaching and working at the store, Maison Rustic. During her and Felix’s time in Asia, she started seeing what she wanted to carry in her own store, a dream she’d had for years. During a walk in her neighborhood, she saw a storefront for rent on Tallac Avenue that was the perfect size for her plans, and GaiaLicious Global Gifts was born.
Her two daughters, now 23 and 27, grew up in the store their parents created.
Kelly says the area surrounding the store was perfect from the beginning – the restaurants, shops, and other businesses make it a great place for the shop. She enjoys the customers who are locals, second homeowners, and out-of-towners.
It hasn’t always been easy to get to the 20th anniversary – weather is always a challenge with wind, snow and shoveling, and power outages. There were the fires and COVID. The weather does help bring people in when they are escaping the 100-degree days in the valley.
She supports local artists, follows trends, and highlights “shop local,” all things customers appreciate.
But with challenges, surprises also come. Kelly says the support from the community was a welcome surprise when she opened her doors. When her husband Felix died of cancer in 2024, the community supported Kelly and her family through food, hugs, and funds.
At some point, Kelly said she would retire and sell the store. Her mom is 100 years old and lives in Placerville, and she’d like to travel more and enjoy her daughters and “bonus daughter,” who has two children.
In the meantime, it is celebrating its first 20 years. For more information on the store and hours, visit https://www.gaialicious.com/.
