Another Carden Street business in Guelph is closing its doors. This time Footprints Eco Store that specializes in environmentally friendly products will be closing its doors at the end of January.
Owner Jim Garland says he saw a decline in business over 2012 and has decided its time to move on. “I don’t want to be bitter anymore, I want to be happy.”
Just a few doors down from Garland’s store, the Hempire store quietly shut its doors for good last weekend. The Wild Organic Way vegan restaurant is also closed.
Sarah Sekeanda works on Carden Street and says not everyone is facing hard times. She feels business has been good since the skating rink in front of Market Square opened. “I’ve noticed a lot of people will come in with their skates.”
Garland was one of the more outspoken shop owners during construction of the rink. He said Market Square would cause parking chaos. But it hasn’t stopped many people from coming to Carden Street.
“I often go by stores and see stores when I’m out and want to go in them but then don’t get an opportunity to.” Kristina Lillakas says.
The city did give downtown businesses 5 thousand dollars during the construction period.
However, Garland says that wasn’t enough to cover the loss of business during that time.
