Sad Day but Some Excitement is Possibly Lurking!

Well, I just ran into the LYS for a sec -- seems they are closing for good the end of March. Here is how the story goes...

This shop has been in town for as long as I can remember - I am going to be 33 on March 1st, so its been here awhile. Anyways, the lady that owns it is in her 70s, and her husband has alzheimers. She was in a spot on Main Street which the owner decided to put up for sale last year. Also, being along in life, she did not want to sign a 5-year lease, which is what he wanted her to do (plus he said he had to sell because she wouldn't sign) . So back then she thought they would be closed in the fall, then it got changed to right before Christmas. What they ended up doing was moving to a different spot on the other side of the street and are only opened part-time. (They carried a ton of stuff in the old spot - cross stitch stuff, some painting supplies, general craft supplies, material, and mostly yarn and knitting stuff/finsihed items. Now it's mostly knitting stuff with a sale room of sewing notions and odds & ends.) Now it seems this building is sold, but it's just too much for her to deal with, so she's closing for good.

No LYS. Nearest place now to buy decent yarn is Bridgewater, 1/2 hour away, or on-line or by catalog. We have a department-type store that is also in the process of closing but are supposedly re-opening, and the only thing they carry is Bernat and some Astra. Anyone wanting nice quality, nature fibres is poop-outta-luck.

But, lo and behold, a tiny ray of hopes may shine in the distance...

I would love to be able to open my own shop, but I currently am in no position to do so, and I don't really see any place in town that would be the kind of spot I would want. Besides, having two small children makes it difficult as well. I would have to work the store myself. I would not be able to hire anyone, at least not for the first year or so. But...

Back when word was the store was closing the first time, the owners of the place where I work thought that would be a great thing for us. I love knitting, and I would be able to manage that section of stuff. Of course, there was no money, blah, blah, blah, but I don't think they really realized how inexpensive it would be - to start off anyways. Only carry yarn, needles, pattern books, etc., and not bother with the other stuff (there's a sewing shop up the street from us). We can make space in the store for it. They don't have to jump in up to their necks, just start off smaller and see where it goes. The assistant manager and I talked about it today, even went around the store to see what we could do. The owners went to Halifax today, and I am off the next two days. I think he may say something to her tomorrow and see what she thinks. And just today before they left she said we need to think of something to do or bring in here to boost sales (a new Walmart opened last month in Bridgewater, and we have definitely been affected by it).

So I will leave here today with a small glimmer of hope. I'm sure if they don't do something someone else will - this is the perfect opportunity for them to do it first. But I'm sure there will be 100 reasons to do it, but probably 101 reasons not to.

Happy knitting!