Nomi owner Kristi Cross has seen plenty of development on Main Street Newmarket in her 17 years in business.
The jewelry designer has operated her storefront with Canadian handmade products for years, garnering a loyal following on the street. But she said times have been more difficult in recent years. Declining revenues combined with sudden spikes in rent and insurance costs made her decide to close shop April 30.
With other retail outlets closing on Main Street in recent months, Cross said it could be an issue for the street's future.
“There’s a lot of restaurants, and I think there’s a lot of support behind the restaurants. But you can’t have a destination place with just restaurants,” she said. “I call it a giant food court, is what it’s become. They come in, they eat, and they leave. So unless they get more retail in here, I can’t see it (Main Street) thriving as well as it should.”
Retail stores Unwind, Changes for You and Still in Style have all moved to new locations recently after being on Main Street for years. All of the stores have cited big rent hikes as a reason.
Cross said closing up her store was an easy decision from a business perspective. She said she never fully recovered from the toll of the pandemic. Parking issues and summer patios blocking out some foot traffic to her store were also issues that caused declining revenues, she said.
Rising costs were also a factor. Cross said her insurance company doubled her rates, due to their sense of increased values on Main Street. Her rent rates, meanwhile, have gone up 40 per cent in two years.
“I suspect that the landlords value the street more than I think it is,” she said.
A local asked Newmarket Mayor John Taylor to comment on business rental hikes during his annual luncheon address March. 5.
Taylor said inflation, COVID-19 and tariffs have impacted many aspects of the market and created difficult conditions all around.
“I don’t have a good answer,” he said. “The private market and trying to set its value of something is something that I'm not sure government should play a big role in … That’s not an area we can do much about.”
The Better Way Alliance has pushed for the provincial government to introduce commercial rent control, as it does with residential rents, to prevent massive hikes.
Cross said although it was an easy business decision to close, it was emotionally challenging.
“I’ve had customers crying. I’ve been crying. I’ve built 17 years of relationships. I’ve had great friendships that have come out of this, and a lot of people are sad to see it go,” she said.
Dozens of people have commented on social media about the store closing.
“So sorry to hear this, your store is a true gem to Newmarket,” one person wrote.
After closing the store at the end of April, Cross said she still plans to sell some of her wares online through Instagram and her website shopnomi.com.
She expressed appreciation to all the people she has developed relationships with as customers.
“I have to thank them from the bottom of my heart for the ongoing support they gave me through 17 years, even through the pandemic," she said. "It will be very sad to leave this place.”