By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
As 2023 came to a close so did several business enterprise in downtown.
Dress for a Day Bridal Boutique, on the southwest corner of Main and Wooster, shuttered after an auction in December.
Mode Elle Fashion Boutique on across the street closed its doors, a couple weeks later.
Down South Main, Joyful Creations is now holding a clearance sale before they close up shop.
And one of the downtown’s signature businesses, Finders Records, remains locked after closing in July as the founder Greg Halamay continues to look for someone to buy the shop.
Gayle Brim, of Joyful Creations, said that health issues for herself and co-owner Laura N Miller, prompted ending the enterprise, which opened in May 2020, in a space a few doors down from their current spot at 181 S. Main St.
Brim said they’ve loved being downtown, but maintaining the shop is no longer tenable for them.
Stacie Banfield, owner of Mode Elle, also said she enjoyed having a shop downtown, which she opened in July 2016. “I am proud to have worked alongside some amazing local small business owners in planning and coordinating events to help bring community together,” she wrote in an email.
Banfield was among a group of women business owners who banded together to launch Firefly Nights in 2018. The summer street fair series continues under new leadership.
[RELATED: Firefly Nights to light up downtown BG this summer (updated)]
“ At the end of the day we can’t fight the numbers,” she wrote.
The trouble started in 2019, when downtown road and infrastructure work disrupted traffic. “The chaos and inconvenience of construction deterred people from visiting the downtown,” Banfield wrote. “The excitement of the completion of the project was short lived as the pandemic lurked right around the corner.”
That was another major shock. “It is no secret the short and long term effects COVID has had on small businesses far and wide. I don’t want to speak for other businesses; however, I’m confident in saying that retail as a whole suffered negatively.”
Now Banfield, who lives in Michigan, is taking her business acumen in another direction. She’s become a real estate agent first in her home state, and she hopes soon in Ohio.
BG Independent was unable to reach Rachelle Spencer and Martin Huffstutler the owners of Dress for a Day. But they told the Toledo Blade in November that family issues prompted the closure of the bridal boutique.
They started in business in February 2021. They moved the shop from Centerville, into the space formerly occupied by Blush, also a bridal boutique.
Tony Vetter, the director of the Downtown BG Special Improvement District, expressed confidence that new tenants will be found for the empty storefront.
Smaller spaces are especially in demand, and the location of two of the shops on the Four Corners downtown should give them an added appeal.
He feels the business conditions downtown are still positive, despite the effects of the pandemic. “Business has evolved since COVID,” he said.
More and more customers are shopping online, Vetter said. He recently was at a county economic development meeting, where it was reported that 60 percent of sales are online.
Some downtown businesses, such as Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Retro, are developing online presences, he said.
Vetter also said that restaurants downtown are doing well.
Banfield wrote: “I wholeheartedly believe there is potential to make the downtown great! It’s sad to see so many vacant store fronts. Small business is risky! It is intimidating and challenging, but with some creativity and vision, and support from the downtown the possibilities are endless.”
