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closeDowntown shuffle strikes again
Roxanne Cooke
Locals and returning visitors to Sumner may notice some changes downtown.
It’s not uncommon for stores to shift around when there’s space available or someone leaves town. Shelly Schlumpf, executive director of the Sumner Downtown Association, has been known to call it the “downtown shuffle.”
Some recent changes this summer included the move of Floor Coverings International from 902 Kincaid Ave. to 909 Main St. Suite 1, the former storefront of Two Blind Mice.
Other businesses that are considering a move to Sumner include a new wine shop and jewelry store, Schlumpf said. The jewelry store will probably be located at the old Keck’s Jewelers location.
At the Sounder Square Building, a large corner structure located where Main Street meets Kincaid Avenue and Cherry Street, building owner and local architect Jim Merritt hopes to start a remodel very soon. The building has been mostly vacant for several months.
Right now it’s a matter of waiting on bank approval and making final touches to the budget, he said. Approval from the city’s design commission came last week.
“We’re optimistic,” Merritt said.
Seven retail spaces will be available, he added. Currently there is a salon operating from one space in the building, and Merritt hopes the business owner chooses to stay. Carnaby Antique Mall was formerly located in the large corner space of the building.
The building owner wants to remodel so that storefronts are tied more to the street. Windows will play a larger role than they have in the past.
“The building is more walls than windows, and we’re going to reverse that,” he said.
Another recent change on Main Street is the consolidation of two businesses, Simple Tidings and The Simple Kitchen, into one spot, 1115 Main St.
Suzanne Sallander, who has owned different businesses downtown for more than two decades, opened The Simple Kitchen last fall. Simple Tidings was open across the street for a number of years, but there wasn’t enough room to expand its cooking and kitchen product offerings.
After running The Simple Kitchen as a separate business for almost a year, Sallander learned that referring customers to her second business across the street didn’t benefit sales, and many customers didn’t even know the kitchen store existed.
Sallander decided to consolidate the shops when two adjacent spaces became available.
“I thought ‘Gosh, that’d be perfect,’” she said. “It was kind of the cloud with the silver lining.”
The entire idea occurred at a good time because the owner of the building Simple Tidings operated from was up for sale and Sallander chose not to buy, she said. Instead, she moved her two businesses into one location after removing a wall from the former spaces of Anastacia’s and Inspired Interiors.
Now when visitors walk in, they likely see one storefront rather than two, Sallander said.
“We wanted it so fluid you wouldn’t even know it was two stores,” she said.
In her new shop, everything is brighter. There’s an additional 200 square feet of retail space. The heating system is more modern. And having more space has allowed Sallander to expand her product lines.
“The air quality is better here,” she said. “It’s a more comfortable environment. I think it looks more like a store.”