Our lease on Broad Street expired on April 30th. I had to make the difficult decision not to re-sign and get locked into another five years in the same space. This decision was not easy to make and involved many debates, multiple lists of pros and cons, conversations with staff, customers, accountants and possibly even a bottle or two of wine to deal with the stress of it.
When I took over our current space on Broad Street, there weren’t many other options available in my budget and no retail space whatsoever ever in the Westshore where I live, at that time. At first it wasn’t too bad. At 1100 square feet it seemed to offer so much more than the tiny little 220 square foot space I started off in Dragon Alley in China Town. The building was built in 1892, and as beautiful as the exposed brick is, it is literally crumbling. Of course, no where in my business plan did I anticipate all the challenges involved in adopting 4 year old twins only six months after moving into the space, followed a year later by a global pandemic.
Our goal is to reopen in Belmont Market in Langford, early this summer. This new plaza has ample parking, EV charging stations, access to buses and even backs onto the Galloping Goose for those of you cycling. However, it is currently an empty shell and needs a full build out which requires time and a significant investment.
Already I am blown away by the number of positive emails and messages from those of you excited to see us coming to Langford (an area in much need of small independent retailers, and especially those focused on environmentally conscious living!).