Economy claims stores in Springs, Monument

The economy is in a slow recovery mode — too slow for some. Two stores, Tillie & Toad in Colorado Springs and Gloss in Monument, are shutting their doors this month.

For owner Jeanne Galvin, the end of Tillie & Toad marks the second downtown business she has shuttered this year. She was owner of Mt. Tejon, which opened in 2002 and she and her husband bought in 2006. Two years ago, she moved the store to a smaller space at 125½ N. Tejon St. (the smaller space meant a smaller rent payment), but the business still struggled. She closed that store in May, then opened Tillie & Toad, a gift and clothing boutique that also features some high-end consignment items, in the same location.

But business never really took off.

“We didn’t spend any money on advertising, which is what we should have done probably,” Galvin said. Still, she believes the main culprit was something out of her control.

“I really blame the economy more than anything,” she said. “I think traffic downtown has not been what it used to be, and then the people who do come downtown aren’t buying.”

Galvin expects to close Tillie & Toad by Christmas; everything in the store except consignments is 40 percent off starting Friday.

Gloss owner Lisa Borden, meanwhile, is looking at a mid-December closing for her business.

Borden opened Gloss, a women’s boutique specializing in premium denim, in November 2007 at the Promenade Shops at Briargate on the north side of Colorado Springs. Early this year, she moved the store farther north — to Monument, where she lives.

Though she said she doesn’t regret the move, she said it did have a negative impact on the business. For some of her customers in the Springs, “probably just driving to Monument felt a little too far.”

The economy, meanwhile, continued to take its toll, she said. The recession officially began soon after she opened the store four years ago, and with that,  “people weren’t spending the kind of money on clothing and accessories that they were prior.” And in this environment, she said, it’s particularly tough for a small business to compete with corporate giants that have bigger marketing budgets and can offer cheaper prices.

“People want to support local businesses, but it’s difficult,” she said.

A going-out-of business sale is under way at Gloss, 366 2nd St., with items 30 percent to 75 percent off.

“We’re basically just liquidating everything: the fixtures, the furniture, as well as all of the clothes.” 

Borden, who is employed in a sales and marketing position at Colorado Springs Imaging, doesn’t rule out venturing back into retail at some point.

“I can see myself coming back in some type of capacity with clothing and fashion, and coming up with something creative again,” she said.