Church St. Knick-Knack Stores Feel the Pinch
Decatur Metro | February 25, 2008 | 12:06 pmThe 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!
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Hate to say it, because it is someone else’s livelihood, however, maybe some of these stores should go out of business? And the fact that they are being quickly replaced tells me that it is not the Decatur economy that is the problem.
I have to disagree and say that we should all be quite concerned that, within the past few months, four restaurants and two (confirmed, yet more to follow apparently) retail spaces are closing down.
The city’s push for further infill development in and around the square (completely ignoring ‘dead zones’ such as Church between Ponce and Commerce) while blocking several current parking areas and significantly increasing the rates of parking meters is working against our business community.
Look, I’d like to think that everyone in Decatur walks and bikes as much as I do. But the reality is, we still have a significant elderly population that does not patronize these businesses. We also have people who still want to drive 6 blocks to go to dinner. Decatur locals either are not or cannot spread ourselves around enough to keep these businesses thriving. And our commercial center, which we all rely on for our property values, is suffering.
If it were only one or two businesses, I’d agree with you, Decaturguy. But this is a significant portion of downtown businesses folding in a very short period of time. Very troubling. Very troubling indeed.
Well, weren’t there two housewares-type stores right across from each other? Taste, I think it is called, is directly across the street from Houseworks. Surely there is some overlap between those two stores, and probably between Rue de Leon and Blue Moon as well. Seems to me like a bit of home decor overkill.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure the city has a plan for redeveloping Church St. between Ponce and Commerce…I’m just not sure why it hasn’t gone into the implementation stages.
As for all the current store/restaurant closings, I’m with DecaturGuy and decatur mom (HA! saying those names together sounds funny). Though at first glance it may seem like Decatur is in trouble, a closer look at what has closed, why, and what has replaced it seems to indicate that its not the city’s economy that’s putting these places out of business, but a slowing national economy that is taking out the stores/restaurants that were already on the edge for their own personal reasons (like too much home decor as decatur mom said/don’t get me started on the Angel).
I also think that what is replacing these closed shops/restaurants is encouraging. The addition of Worthmore, Tastings, El Tesoro, and Saba seem like worthy additions to a city that was once dominated by home decor/pottery shops.
We shall have to wait and see what takes the place of the remaining empty store fronts to judge whether this trend can continue.
I hope I’m not piling on here, but the quality of merchandise at Houseworks is awful. It’s a cramped mish-mash of tacky and useless stuff, and I’m frankly not surprised that business is not good. Rue de Leon used to have beautiful things, but I believe ownership changed a few years back, and it just hasn’t been as nice since. I’ve never managed to go by Blue Moon when it was actually open, so I don’t know about them.
I agree with Paula, however I do think that y’all are forgetting something that really affected the downtown restaurants and retail shops: the MARTA Plaza.
I worked at the now defunct Square Roots (before and during the new ownership), and while the (lack of ) managment were very different, I can attest that the redesign of the MARTA Plaza was devastating for the shop.
The loss of revenues due to the construction affected every business on the square and I think the financial strains put on the owners are becoming apparent now. They were all expecting to rebound from the construction, but it doesn’t seem to be happening with the weak dollar and drooping economy.
I don’t envy their position at all. It’s really sad, these are people’s lives and dreams. These stores (while some were tacky and others ridiculously over priced) are the result of tremendous devotion and love and it can be absolutely crushing to admit defeat and close up (or in my case, leave).
what type of shops would Decatur residents like to see replace the stores that have gone out of business? What type of store/items would lure folks from all areas in so that those living in Decatur are not expected to cover the costs of keeping the retail shops open?
I’d like to see a Penzeys! Close to the Cook’s Warehouse and Sawicki’s =) – Hey, a girl can dream.
I think those spaces on Church St. would be good for Ice Cream or a bakery. We went from numerous ice cream venues to zero rapidly. Someone, bring us good ice cream to Decatur. ( and please not Jakes’s.) It is a nice dream Stacy, but Penzey’s ain’t comin’ to Georgia anytime this century. Taste, in addtion to CW and Sawicki’s, also has some cool spices and oils.
I would like (in no specific order):
– bike shop
– magazine & newspaper shop
– hobby shop (trains, planes, RC cars, etc)
– smoothie king (emory location is too far too walk)
– bookstore that specializes in design-related books
– wine shop with good prices
– seafood market
– Apple store
– dedicated bakery
– Trader Joes