With three stores preparing to leave Main Street in Chardon, some residents have experienced a ripple of concern Chardon Square’s retail is disappearing.
With three stores preparing to leave Main Street in Chardon, some residents have experienced a ripple of concern Chardon Square’s retail is disappearing.
They point to the loss of Circa, an antique and vintage furniture store, Valentine’s Antiques and The Mane Street Shoppe tack store, as evidence the square is losing its retail appeal.
But Stephanie Talty, president of the Chardon Square Association and owner of The Nest, a home décor and gift shop, was upbeat and philosophical about the future of the square.
“Change isn’t easy. It’s inevitable,” she said as she prepared tags for merchandise at her counter. “It doesn’t have to be bad.”
CSA members have known since June, when the building that housed Circa, 119 Main Street, was purchased by Ed Babcock, that Circa’s owner, village Councilwoman Heather Means, might decide to close the store. It was no surprise the owner of The Mane Street Shoppe, Melanie Yatsko, chose to follow suit.
In addition, Bill Smiley announced he planned to close Valentine’s Antiques, also at 119 Main Street.
But all have different reasons for turning off the lights.
Yatsko’s consignment store for all things equine — saddles, blankets, bridles, boots, etc. — fell victim to online sales and tack swap meets, she said.
Her quality inventory occupied the space behind Circa and she and Means shared hours keeping the doors open for the last eight years.
So she expressed some sorrow the character of Main Street won’t be the same.
“It’s going to change, definitely,” Yatsko said in a phone conversation. “That’s sad. We’ve enjoyed it thoroughly.”
The camaraderie she has enjoyed as a member of the CSA will keep her connected, even after she turns out the lights.
“I’ll still be involved with the Chardon Square Association,” Yatsko said. It sponsors the annual art show on the square and the Giving Garden, among other events. “We’ll continue to promote the city,” she said.
Meanwhile, she will up her hours working as a registered veterinary technician in Orwell, she said.
Bill, owner of the family-operated Valentine Antiques, agreed Internet sales played a part in his decision to step away from the square, leaving a “Thanks for the memories” sign on the front door Monday.
“There’s a whole slew of places people can buy and sell,” he said, adding, however, that wasn’t the primary reason he is shifting his focus.
“We started an auction house in Perry in the spring,” he said.
That endeavor has proven to be a more intense business than he, his sister, Holly Smiley, and their mother, Linda Smiley expected, he added.
“There’s not enough time or days in the week to do both,” Bill said.
Competition from the plethora of antique and collectible stores on the square was not part of their decision. Chardon’s antique retail shops have always been popular shopping grounds and the retailers shared the foot traffic, sending customers on to the next antique store down the street, he said.
“Having multiple stores has benefited everyone. It has really helped more than hurt. People come to Chardon as a destination on day trips,” Bill said, adding each shop had incredible variety of merchandise with little duplication from one store to another.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find the same two pieces,” he said.
Means said she is invested in Chardon through other endeavors. She will miss collaborating with the Smileys and Yatsko, but she wasn’t willing to keep Circa open on an indefinite basis once the building sold.
“This was not an easy decision — it’s very emotional. But there were things out of my control,” she said.
Making plans for the future in the retail market requires stability, Means said.
“I was not able to secure a formal, long-term lease,” she said. “It’s hard to build on something if you don’t know whether or not you’re going to be there.”
Means said she understands the space has already been rented and will probably become offices, not retail.
“That’s really discouraging. There’s few places for retail on the square,” she said.
The atmosphere of the square may change if offices and restaurants occupy the storefronts and the activities centered on the square could suffer, as well, Means said.
“We’re losing people who contribute so much to the square itself,” she said. “People forget how much small business owners give back to the community.”
While she regrets losing that day-to-day contact with other Main Street business owners, Means is still very involved in her stained-glass business and other ventures.
“I’m still going to be doing things, but they are definitely going to be different,” she said.
Local businessman Ed Babcock, owner of Junction Auto in Munson Township, bought the 115 and 119 Main Street addresses in June and confirmed in a phone conversation Jan. 13 he will be converting the spaces to offices, which are in high demand near the Geauga County Courthouse.
“The vast majority (of space) north of Short Court is all government,” he said, adding there are people very interested in having easy access to those departments and he plans to start marketing another space at 109 Main Street he purchased a few years ago.
Once the current retail occupants are out of 115 and 119, Babcock said he will be applying for permits and having blueprints drawn up with a completion of the renovations expected in May or June.
Chardon Square has a history of change, Babcock said.
“I grew up in Chardon. I remember when there was a (general) store, a grocery store and a shoe store on the square. None of those places are there anymore,” he said. The square has survived and will continue to prosper, Babcock said.
“Chardon has always been vibrant. It’s still good,” he said.
