Three stores in uptown Leamington are set to close their doors, including Clyde Hatch at Ease after over 90 years of business.
"I'm a little disappointed that we can't keep it open, but the traffic has dropped off and sales have dropped off also which is not good for keeping a store open," says Dean Short, co-owner of Clyde Hatch at Ease. "You need people coming downtown and if they're not coming downtown it's hard to keep your doors open."
Leamington BIA Treasurer and Gabriel's Home Furnishings owner Shelly Gale Gabriel doesn't think losing a 90-year business necessarily hurts the image of Leamington's uptown.
"I think we have a lot of positive things that have come in and I think that we need to focus on that and not focus on one store closing as the deterioration of our town," says Gale Gabriel, adding she's noticed a sales bump recently. "From my own experience, just in the last six months, I see an economic upswing for me. So, I only look at the positive for 2015."
Short expects to close his Leamington store by the end of February. Liddle Treasures in uptown Leamington closed on January 10 to move to Kingsville after its building was sold, while Modrigal has closing signs in the shop window, but a closing date hasn't been settled on.
Uptown Leamington on January 13, 2015. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)