In a town where the main drag doubles as a wine trail pit stop, Ardin Kay Boutique has become the reason people actually get out of the car and walk Penn Yan's Main Street. Tucked into a storefront at 112 Main, this women's clothing shop has built a following that goes well beyond Yates County — earning back-to-back Gold for Best Women's Clothing Store in 2024 and 2025, plus Gold for Best Boutique Shop the same year. That kind of repeat dominance in the FLX Finest voting does not happen by accident. Owner-curated from top to bottom, the racks here lean contemporary without being intimidating: trendy dresses, layering pieces, seasonal tops, and accessories that work whether you are headed to a lakeside dinner or a tasting room afternoon.
What separates Ardin Kay from the handful of other boutiques in the region is the edit. The collection is tight, not overwhelming — you will not spend forty-five minutes sifting through mediocre options to find one good thing. Everything on the floor has been selected with an eye toward quality at accessible price points, which matters in a market where the competition is either chain retail in the Geneva-Canandaigua corridor or online shopping. The store's personality is distinctly Penn Yan: warm, unhurried, and confident in its taste without being pretentious about it.
For visitors passing through the Keuka Lake area, Ardin Kay is worth a deliberate stop rather than a stumble-upon. It is the kind of shop where you walk in for a browse and walk out with a bag, and where the staff actually knows the inventory rather than pointing you toward a sale rack. In a region that has rapidly leveled up its dining and wine scenes, Ardin Kay is evidence that the retail side is catching up.