The story of the Lily Pad

A small side hustle, a simple idea, a lit­tle hobby, has trans­formed into one of the most popular stores here in our beautiful town. The Lily Pad, once a small, low-cost start-up business, ini­tially began in the old Radio Shack building, then evolved into a storage unit and has now blossomed into the most well-known consignment store.

At the heart of it all is Wendy Williams, the brilliant and hard­working woman be­hind the store’s suc­cess. Wendy origi­nally moved to Kanab in December 2010. She spent her early years working at Best Friends and soon de­cided that Kanab was where she belonged. Wendy is 58 years old and anyone who knows her will tell you she is not a quitter. She works hard, fights for what she wants and continues to run her first-ever successful business, all without taking out a single loan. In fact, she reno­vated the entire store from the ground up.

The idea for the Lily Pad began when Wendy was working for Matt Brown, a familiar face around town. She noticed he had boxes upon boxes of things he wanted to get rid of. Wendy asked if she could help sell them and that simple question sparked the start of something extraordinary. With a vision in mind, Wendy transformed an old building into a store where locals could con­sign their once-loved items.

In 2020, despite the global pandemic, Wen­dy opened the doors of the Lily Pad with the fear that her business wouldn’t take off. But to her surprise, the store quickly became a local favorite. With consigners bringing in trinkets and doodads in overwhelming numbers, Wendy made the bold decision to expand. On May 1, 2025, she opened her second store, The Urban Toad, while continuing to manage both locations with nothing but a computer and a label maker. She now hopes to bring on three official employees and eventually launch an online store. The charming names “Lily Pad” and “Urban Toad” were inspired by a terracotta ceramic frog Wendy kept on the front porch of her Airbnb, which she had also named the Lily Pad.

Wendy schedules appointments with consigners to drop off their items. She then decides whether to sell the items or donate them to the local thrift store. If an item is accepted, she sets the price, prints a price tag and puts it out on the floor for ninety days. If it doesn’t sell, she offers it at half-price for an additional thirty days. After that, if the item does not sell, consigners may reclaim their items. But Wendy’s mission goes beyond business. She gives back generously to the community, donating most of the proceeds to Page’s Animal Adoption Agency and Operation Kind heart. She fosters kittens in her free time and even helped raise money for individuals who wished to complete a mountain climb.

Looking ahead, Wendy plans to retire to Alaska within the next five years to be closer to her son. When the time comes, she hopes to sell the store, but for now, she’s right where she wants to be, running two thriving businesses, giving back to her town and watching her simple idea grow into something truly unforgettable. If you or someone you know is looking to sell their trinkets and doo-dads, you can stop by The Lily Pad and speak to one of the employees at the front desk. 26 N Main Street, Kanab Utah 84741 Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., closed Sundays.