Butter and Eggs owner Judy Olson Dunne is a transplanted Midwesterner who enjoys walking to work in an area that, in an earlier era, was home to New York's dairy district.

It was within walking distance of her home and just a few blocks north of the World Trade Center, making it a convenient destination for the financial district's daily commuters. She also knew the lease was about to expire and the current tenant, a delicatessen, was planning to vacate.

And then the unimaginable happened. On Sept. 11, 2001, explosions rocked Lower Manhattan as hijacked aircraft crashed into and eventually brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center, shrouding the area in darkness, debris and uncertainty. "I had my eye on that particular location for awhile and by the morning of 9/11, had already begun some of the process," Dunne said. "Afterwards, I was even more determined to see it through."

Not everyone shared Dunne's sentiment. In the days following, Chambers Street, which runs east-west, became the demarcation line for the so-called "red zone" and Tribeca became a ghost town. The owners of the delicatessen at 83 West Broadway couldn't open for business. Still undaunted, Dunne continued with her plans, the debris slowly cleared, and the red zone shrank to encompass an area closer in and around Ground Zero.

Months later she began renovating the turn-of-the-century building that, in earlier eras, warehoused Smith and Wesson firearms and Mumm's Champagne. In March 2003, Dunne opened Butter and Eggs, named for the neighborhood's history as a wholesale dairy district of "butter and egg" men, serving ingredients for the home and a good bit of mental comfort to residents who were glad to see Dunne continue with her plans in the aftermath of 9/11.

Butter and Eggs serves a discriminating mix of quality, decorative staples and design ingredients to the residents of Lower Manhattan from its location near the former site of the World Trade Center.

Lathe-turned Crescent Globe candles, a store exclusive, are stocked in a variety of colors and sizes.

Today she says it's the best move she ever made, the location is awesome, and that she never once thought about opening her furnishings and design store anywhere else. Perhaps Dunne was able to foresee today's booming residential market. Fears of living near Ground Zero have diminished, former office buildings have been converted into apartment buildings and more than a dozen new parks have opened in Lower Manhattan. Development continues, more parks are on the way and residential occupancy is back above 95%. Butter and Eggs stays stocked with plenty of staples for the Tribeca homes that fetched a median price of just under $1.9 million last year, making it some of the most expensive real estate in Manhattan.

Now, she knows most of her local customers by name, as well as the names of their children and pets. An unplanned demographic twist has resulted in the stocking of more baby gifts and accessories such as locally fabricated aluminum alphabet letters, a popular choice for nursery walls.

"Butter and Eggs was concepted on the stores I shopped and enjoyed during my early years here," said Dunne, a 36-year-old transplanted Midwesterner, who initially came to New York to attend school. "One of my big issues was to focus on great design, but have it be accessible in a way such that my mother visiting from the Midwest could walk in and not feel intimidated."

Those design choices include decorative ceramics and glass, tableware, wall decor, lighting, furniture, giftware, bedding and pillows, at price points ranging from $5 to $20,000. A translucent bar of soap revealing a map of Manhattan is a popular gift item at $10, and she carries an Italian bookcase system alongside larger inlaid pieces selling for $8,800 to $10,000. "We also have a lot of lighting in the $300 to $400 range including Babette Holland, who is based out of Brooklyn."

She shops shows in New York, Italy and Los Angeles, and plans to attend an upcoming High Point Market. Her personal research has turned up the home accessories and textiles of fashion brands such as Etro, which has her buying on a six-month fashion cycle. "When it comes to selecting new vendors, they must add something different to our collection, exhibit high quality of workmanship and good value," Dunne said.

Prices and product descriptions are mounted on small squares of foam board, and sold items display an "I've been adopted by a nice family" sign, which she notes "speaks to our vibe and our clients' mentality."

Local artisans are included in the mix, and Butter and Eggs is the only retail outlet for one collector's antique black and white images of old downtown New York. Dunne says one of her toughest challenges is saying no to the local walk-ins who ask her to sell their work. "I've gotten into trouble several times for letting my neighborhood sense get the better of my business sense. It gets especially tricky when young people drop in with something that they're passionate about, but I just don't have the space to put everything that walks through the door." She's become much more adept over the years at editing out things that aren't going to work but says every now and then someone ambles in with some truly spectacular artwork.

The black-and-white images hang throughout the store alongside the works of three other New York artists, to be enjoyed by a customer base that is about 60% women, 40% men, affluent professionals in their 30s and 40s. After the store opened, Dunne kept getting customers who were on break from jury duty, later learning that Chambers Street serves as a main thoroughfare to the county courthouse. The store is busiest on weekends, with more tourists on Saturdays and neighborhood shoppers on Sundays. "I experimented with operating times and found that if you couldn't open by 8 in the morning, there's no real business until the next wave at lunch, when parents are also picking up from school." She opens at noon on weekdays and is busiest between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Custom interior design and consultations are Dunne's favorite part of the job, when she gets to work one-on-one with members of the community she's grown to love. Much of her advertising budget is geared toward community outreach: festivals, school auctions, the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Tribeca film festival and the October Tribeca loft tour, which usually includes some of her design clients. Print ads are limited to The Tribeca Trib and occasional holiday circulars.

"I'd do more if I could, but there's just one of me," she said, when asked about the growing number of festivals that are raising Tribeca's profile as one of the city's hottest neighborhoods. "Running a business in New York City is not the easiest thing to do, but I'm surrounded by good people and I can walk to work. The 9/11 tragedy was horrible, but I can't begin to describe what transpired in the days and weeks following -— the acts of heroism and kindness between and among all walks of life. New York is all about community and I'm so fortunate to live and work in such a great place."