Apr 9, 2008

Some unique Fifth Avenue stores appear on the way outBy Katy BishopNaplesNews.com

They’re in limbo, and it’s not the dancing kind.

When four retail shops on Fifth Avenue South received their lease renewals this year, there was an unpleasant surprise: a 90-day termination clause added to the one-year term.

The owner put the building on the market for $3.95 million and that termination clause meant that if the shops — The Blue Mussel, The Lady from Haiti, Cottontails and Jammin on 5th — sign a new lease, they could be asked to pack up and leave with three months’ notice.

The Blue Mussel has decided to stay in the building with a month-to-month lease, and owner Larry Liss is looking for a new location on the street.

Cottontails, which has another Naples location in Fountain Park plaza at Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads, will close its Fifth Avenue South location. The Lady from Haiti owner Melody Bales is uncertain but is leaning toward closing her store.

Jammin on 5th owner Peter Fisher declined to comment for this story.

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