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After opening with a lot of fanfare as a haven for small businesses facing tough economic times, Emporium Artisan Square Market itself will have to shut its doors.
Co-Owner Barbara Martinez opened the market in August 2020. It closed for the final time at the end of January.
“It was a combination of why we made the decision, the business decision, to close our doors in January with the rise in COVID cases,” said Martinez. “You know, a lot of our merchants were getting sick and a lot of merchants were closing their doors because they were struggling themselves.”
What You Need To Know
- Emporium Artisan Square Market opened in August 2020
- Barbara Martinez and Orlando Lallave owned the market and wanted to help small businesses thrive
- The market closed the last weekend of January
Martinez says business was tough with COVID restrictions and a lot of customers were just not stopping by. Things really slowed down after the holiday season ended.
“Our expectations weren’t quite met and we had to be responsible on how we prevent businesses losing money Emporium losing money, and it was a really hard decision to make,” said Martinez. “But the reality is, you know, sometimes in business, you have to make the hard choices and for us, we can’t continue to bleed money.”
Reality for her set in at the end of the year when a lot of merchants started pulling out. That’s when she and her business partner Orlando Lallave made the call to close for good.
“It was really hard,” said Martinez. “We didn’t have investors. We didn’t have backers. We didn’t have supporters. Really, it was just Orlando with a dream and me with a passion, and walking down these aisles and looking at the empty shops [was] extremely hard.”
Despite the loss, Martinez said she accomplished the goal of helping small businesses as best she could.
“Some of them are moving on to get their own brick-and-mortar [locations]. They’re moving on to set up shop together at other locations. Some of them are improving their online presence. So I think there’s a lot of growth that has happened here,” said Martinez.
As for the future, Martinez says she will be opening La Taza Cafe y Vino in another location and Lallave will have his eyewear store in the same shopping center.
“I believe in small business and I believe in supporting the local community,” said Martinez.
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