Nov 9, 2010

Downtown Ann Arbor’s Michigan-themed Occasionally gift store may close next summerBy Janet MillerAnnArbor.com

Ann Arbor, MI – Linda Brinker may give the iconic Michigan mitten a final wave goodbye.

After more than two decades stationed on a prime northeast corner of Liberty and Main streets in downtown Ann Arbor, the owner of Occasionally Gift Shop may be closing up shop. Brinker said she will decide in January whether she wants to sell the business, close her 1,300-square-foot shop or continue on.

Either way, Brinker said, she will stay open at least until August, when her lease expires. Jim and John Curtis, owners of the Fritz Building where Occasionally is located, have said they plan to add two separate bay windows on the Liberty Street side of the building to improve visibility and improve the pedestrian experience on that block.

It’s a demanding job – Brinker still puts in 70-hour weeks – and sales have never recovered from when Pfizer left town in 2008. And as Main Street has turned over from a retail hub to restaurant row, walk-in traffic has dropped by at least a third, Brinker said.

The days when she would stay open until midnight to capture late-night shoppers are gone.

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