Phoebe Ann, located at 24 West 100 South in Tooele, will close its doors for good sometime in the next six weeks. Owner Phoebe Beacham opened the gift boutique in September 2006 in the former pharmacy section of Dave's Drug, which was owned by her father, Dave Bickmore, until that business closed in August 2006 after Walgreens came to town.
Beacham decided to close her shop in order to become a full-time homemaker.
"I haven't decided yet on how to get rid of all the remaining stuff here, but I will probably sell it on eBay or through some other way on the Internet," said Beacham. "Our closeout sale is doing much better than we anticipated, and we hope to be out of here in six weeks."
Beacham said location was a problem for her business. She would have preferred to be on Main Street, and even considered buying the old JC Penney building before it was purchased by the county for a new social services center. She fears the downtown area is declining as vacant buildings sit too long.
"Some places on Main Street are dilapidated and the owners don't want to fix them up," Beacham said. "Leaky ceilings can cause things to get ruined, and the businesses can't afford to fix things like a broken air conditioner once they're moved in. Parking has also been a concern for some people, but I think the biggest concern is that the buildings are too dilapidated. People would rather move to the north end of town where they can be in a nicer, newer building -- and they'll be willing to pay more in rent for that."
The closure of Phoebe Ann will leave the entire former Dave's Drug building abandoned, while right next door, another large building known as the former home of Al and Lid's furniture also sits vacant and up for sale. Other vacant buildings in the immediate area include the location next to Ragz 2 Riches, and the former home of First American Title Insurance Agency and Alliance Capital Mortgage.
Debbie Winn, executive director of the Tooele County Chamber of Commerce, said old, dilapidated buildings are having a domino effect on downtown.
"Downtown building owners need to take pride in their buildings and put more money into them, and I think if they do that they will become more appealing for renters to move into," she said. "All the owners have to get together to improve their properties, not just one or two."
Even successful businesses like Dairy Delight, which has operated next to the Dave's Drugs building since the early 1980s, are worried that the slow decline of the area will hurt their business as well.
"I think the business closures in the area affect everyone else around them, and it's sad to see them all leave," said Shannon Lopez. "It really does bring less people to this side of town. We hope someone can buy those buildings and bring more people to this downtown area."
Beacham is hoping to sell the former Dave's Drug building, and she's optimistic that downtown's decline can be reversed.
"I'm a downtown rejuvenation advocate, and I think people will want to be downtown if more businesses come here," she said. "I have a feeling we'll get some more inquiries with this building as well."
Winn agreed that a downtown revitalization could happen if more of the building owners decide to fix up their old buildings.
"Some owners might not bother fixing up their old buildings because they think they couldn't get more money anyway, but once they do I'm sure they could get more money and more interested renters," she said. "I've noticed the downtown tenants also do all they can to make their own business appealing once they move in. If more people come to downtown to locate their business, we'll continue to see that build upon itself over time."
dougrad@tooeletranscript.com
Post a Comment
