The ever-reliable Rus has informed us that Houseworks on Church Street (next to Mingei Arts) is having a going-out-of-business sale. The owner told Rus that business has been “terrible” and that Rue de Leon and Blue Moon are also struggling.

The owner also claims that his neighbor, the T-Mobile store, is also closing shop.

I think it’s pretty interesting to see how Decatur development patterns reflect the local and national economy. Most of the recent closings (smaller restaurants and “knick-knack” shops) have seemed the most vulnerable to the negative shift in the national economy. But at the same time, you can see the strength in the Decatur market as these now defunct stores are being bought up and replaced quickly, while Decatur’s residential real estate market shows many area homes under renovation and there has even been some new construction activity. What a rarity!

…and I’m two days too late.

AccessAtlanta reports…

This year is the fourth Decatur gathering for tribal belly dancers, women whose dancing springs from an amalgam of feminism, a touch of punk, “modern primitive” ideas such as tattooing and body piercing, and a love of combining different ethnic offerings, such as Japanese jewelry and Indian music.

“It’s less glitz and more dust,” said Zi’ah McKinney-Taylor, who like many of the performers this weekend prefers to go by her stage name, “and more about the dance and the costuming as opposed to the female body.”

Zi’ah, who teaches belly dancing at Several Dancers Core in Decatur, started TribalCon in 2005, with just 80 people signed up and a surprise ice storm that canceled the first day. The convention, which pulls women from all over the United States, has grown so that Decatur’s Holiday Inn Conference Center can barely hold it at 300-plus attending. The weekend’s workshops are sold out, and about 50 remaining tickets will be available at the door for the big show at 8 p.m. Saturday.

The Holiday Inn can’t contain more than 300 people? Lord, it sounds like we really do need an additional hotel in this city that can accommodate more moderately sized conventions. Obviously we couldn’t (or would want to) compete with the likes of the GWCC or the larger convention centers in Cobb and Gwinnett, but a walkable community like Decatur would seem the perfect host for smaller gatherings.