Another downtown business is closing its doors.
After six years, Gifts Etc. will be closing by the end of the month.
Owner Ramsey Howard said she is closing the specialty shop because the expense of owning a small business is eating up her profit.
She is not alone.
The north side of Main Street that is home to Gifts Etc. is quickly becoming a nearly vacant block.
The anchors of the block that nestle on opposite corners, the former Bancorp South Building on Fifth Street and the old Varsity Theater on Fourth Street, are also currently vacant.
Hope Community Church has purchased the theater and reportedly will begin renovations soon.
The old Alford Drug building that was most recently occupied by The Chill House is vacant as well.
Longtime downtown staples House of Tux and Charles O’Perkins Frame Shop have also closed their doors, leaving only three of eleven storefronts occupied on that side of Main Street.
Paradoxically, on the opposite side of the street business seems to be booming. From the Fashion Barn to The Front Door, the south side of Main Street has a steady flow of traffic.
Main Street Columbus Director Amber Brislin, who publicly announced her retirement from the position Tuesday, said that businesses opening and closing is part of the flow of downtown. She noted that downtown has 80 percent occupancy rate.
“I don’t feel that those businesses closing or those buildings being empty is a poor reflection of downtown business,” Brislin said.
Blaine Walters is a merchant who is new to the downtown area and heartily agrees with Brislin.
He and his wife, Corie, purchased House of Tux in January and moved from the Main Street location to a remodeled storefront on Fifth Street. When they moved, the also added a wedding dress side to the business, creating The Bride and Groom Bridal Boutique and House of Tux.
Walters said they opened the Fifth Street location on Feb. 1. and choose to do so for what he sees as constant heavy foot traffic in that specific area of downtown.
“There is a good little walking feel to Fifth Street,” he said. ” We actually wanted to move to Fifth Street because it’s in such close proximity to established businesses. It’s excellent exposure. It’s proven to be great. Fifth Street is really where it’s at.”
The Marketplace approach
For some downtown merchants, however, the strain of owning a small business is proving difficult.
Megan Westby, owner of Savvy Spaces, once owned a downtown children’s boutique called The Carousel. When the economy went south, Westby and her mother Donna Garrison had to come up with a more creative business that was not so specific.
They closed The Carousel 10 years ago and immediately opened Savvy Spaces, a store made up of a collection of smaller stores. Located next to The Purple Elephant, Savvy Spaces has become the next trend in owning your own business.
Garrison rents sections of her store to other small business owners, creating a marketplace of various items and merchandise.
When fellow downtown merchant Charles O’Perkins retired earlier this year, he closed his store across the street and moved a selection of his frames into Savvy Spaces.
Art & Soul, which was also briefly located across the street, closed its doors and also moved into Savvy Spaces.
By combining their businesses into a marketplace-type environment such as Savvy Spaces, small business owners are still able to showcase their merchandise while drastically cutting down on overhead.
Joining forces with other small business owners also helped Westby financially.
“Our idea kept us from going under. It got us out from under the worry, the crunch of inventory and the cost of overhead.”
“I wasn’t ready to go out of business but with the economy, it just made owning a small business so hard,” she added.
The steep overhead is why Howard chose to close Gift’s Etc. and move a portion of her merchandise into Flaunt at Brickerton, another store with a marketplace feel.
Howard said on an average day, her downtown store will have no more than five customers, if any at all. She said with the cost of utilities, phone, Internet and employees, that is simply not enough to make a profit.
“If I make $1,000, 50 percent goes to the merchandise. Your overhead could run you 30-to-40 percent of your profit then you have to pay employees. Your actual business does not make that much.”
On an average building downtown, local Realtors say the space could cost $5 to $6 per square foot.
The Highway 45
alternative
David Coleman, a realtor who specializes in commercial property, said the majority of his clients are looking for a space on Highway 45.
He said he feels the two main reasons people do not want to locate their business downtown is because of the convenience of Highway 45 and the lack of parking downtown.
“People don’t want to make their employees park and walk. You constantly have to drive around looking for a space. Parking is the number one problem with downtown.”
Walters, however, disagrees.
“People may park in front of Holly Hocks and walk down to our store,” Walters said. “Parking hasn’t been an issue at all.”
The cost of renting on Highway 45 runs double, or even triple, what it costs on Main Street.
Coleman said a storefront on the popular stretch of highway could cost anywhere from $10 to $18 dollars per square foot.
He added that the typical building size on Highway 45 is 1,200 to 2,000 square feet with the average cost of $15 per square foot.
While Highway 45 has a much larger traffic flow than downtown, Walters said he is happy he choose to open up a business downtown and is not concerned with the vacant storefronts.
“I think it is just a fluke that there are so many empty buildings on that side of Main,” he said. “People had various reasons for moving or closing. Its just a coincidence that it happened at once. Downtown is still as lively, beautiful and prosperous as ever. I’m proud to be a downtown merchant.”
Westby said she also choose to stay downtown instead of locating her business elsewhere.
“I love downtown,” she said. ” It offers so much variety. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Ramsey said that while she will not be in her downtown location anymore, she will still be an active part of the downtown community.
“I appreciate all the support through the years. I’ll still be in the community, I just won’t be under Gifts Etc. My customers are the people I go to church with, see in the grocery store. Their kids are in my kids’ class,” she said. “I’ll still see them; I just won’t be the girl that owns Gifts anymore.”
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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