![Stationery shop parcel + prose is the latest closure on 124 Street A shopkeeper behind a counter surrounded by stationery products and plants.](https://taprootyeg.blob.core.windows.net/photos/2024/07/23/parcel-3143.jpg)
Stationery shop parcel + prose is the latest closure on 124 Street
The parcel + prose stationery boutique is closing at the end of July due to challenges its owner said stemmed primarily from a costly pandemic loan — though this may not be the end of the store.
"That took literally everything out of my bank account," owner Tracy Losey told Taproot about her January repayment of a $40,000 Canada Emergency Business Account loan. "I didn't have anything left over, so the landlord knew I was in a difficult situation. We struggled through February, and then finally in March I just said, 'I think you need to start looking for someone to take over the lease because I just can't afford to stay.'"
HomeLife Guaranteed Realty, Losey's landlord, agreed to let her out of the lease at the end of July despite the contract extending for two additional years. She paid $4,767 per month by the end of her tenancy.
Losey said the CEBA repayment was the main factor behind her decision to close the shop, which she opened in January 2017. But she pointed out other factors that played a role, too, including what she said is dissatisfaction with the 124 Street and Area Business Association. Losey said she "100%" feels the organization could provide more support in exchange for the member dues she paid through a tax levy.
"I know I'm not alone (among business owners) in asking for things that they could do to help us," Losey said. "They always say they're 'Working on things, and things are going to get better, and we're doing this, and we're doing that,' but we don't really see any of that, so I'm not sure how much of it actually happens."
The business association is one of 13 business improvement areas that are partly funded through the City of Edmonton. It organizes commerce-generating events such as the All is Bright festival, provides a business directory, promotes businesses on the @shop124street Instagram account, and offers a parking guide, among many other things. A summary of its 2023 work is in its annual report submitted to city council on June 19. The report details that the organization accessed $35,000 in savings in 2023 to avoid forcing a levy increase onto its members.
The association did not respond to three requests from Taproot for an interview. Taproot also spoke to additional sources to try to gain context about the association's perspective.
Losey said she's heard about the tough times from her regular conversations with other business owners, including the artisans whose wares she sold at the shop, distribution representatives in the industry, and her neighbours on 124 Street. The tough times on the street are evident: Powerage Wine & Spirits closed last year, followed shortly after by Northern Chicken, which closed each of its locations on 124 and 104 streets in the core. Credo Coffee has closed its 124 Street NW outpost, but owner Geoff Linden told Taproot that was simply because its 10-year lease ended on June 30.
Losey has lived in the area for years and doesn't want to see its small businesses struggle. She said the community feels the same way. "Another local business owner … she called me and said, 'I don't want to see your store leave.'"
Thankfully, Losey said she is in talks to reboot parcel + prose as a shop-within-a-shop partnership in the vicinity of 124 Street NW.