Can downtown Brunswick stay in business?
Brunswick — A tough economy, not enough draw to downtown, no major highways nearby and a lack of parking are just some reasons Brunswick store owners are feeling a pinch in their sales.
Julia Saulnier recently moved her gift shop, Treasures to Warm the Heart, to Leesburg, Va., after one year in downtown. Her sales didn’t cover the cost to run the business and for her to commute from her Leesburg home, she said.
But there’s not enough foot traffic to sustain all of the city’s antique shops, said Bill Simms, who, with wife, Edith, own Antiques N’ Ole Stuff at 25 E. Potomac St.
“People drive to see us,” Simms said. “We have a built-in base of customers, not from Brunswick, but from people who have driven from Loudoun County, Va, Frederick and Washington, D.C.”
Longtime Brunswick residents already own old furniture, said Simms. But newer residents sometimes need old furniture and they have discovered him.
Galyn Manor, a 300-home Brunswick neighborhood built in 2003, is an example.
He said the same thing will happen at Brunswick Crossing, a 552-acre residential-commercial development planned along Md. 17 that will bring 1,500 homes over the next 10 years.
Saulnier should have given Brunswick more time, said Jerry Knight, owner of Cripple Creek Antiques at 24 W. Potomac St.
