It’s closing time….

October it seems is going to be the cruelest month yet for retail operations in Prince Rupert.

While there is a renewed sense of excitement with the advent of the Container Terminal, it seems to not be enough to keep a number of Prince Rupert retail stores open for business.

Early September saw Coles Books in the Rupert Square pack up their volumes and leave town, having ended their experiment in book selling just months before the traditionally busiest time of the year for book stores.

Last month, word quickly spread that Creative Computer Systems was about to shut its doors, the closing out signs on the windows and doors testimony to the end of the Computer store on 3rd Avenue West.

But Creative is going to have some company in the farewell to business rush.

A quick scan of the Daily News on Wednesday provides no fewer than three announcements of Rupert businesses about to close up.

The Cow Bay area will take a double hit as both Just Us Gifts on Cow Bay Road and Ocean Girl on 3rd Avenue East hold closing out sales in preparation for wrapping up their operations.

Further down the road to the west Rupert Motor Cars has called it a day, an ad in Wednesday’s paper advising patrons and friends that the long rumored closure of the auto repair centre was at hand. October 1st was the official end of business for the long time fixture in the downtown core.

And while Kal Tire recently set up shop in the Yellowhead centre, they seem to be the exception to the rule of late.
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There still seems to be a rather significant downsizing trend for small business in the city, one which adds to the list of small local businesses that have decided that they can’t make a go of it anymore.

It would be interesting to learn what led each individual operation to make their decisions, some may just be personal reasons, others perhaps could be symptoms of a problem in the way the city handles the small business files.

The rumor mill has a few more possibilities on the verge of following the same path, surely a worrisome trend for Prince Rupert City Council, which gains a fair amount of tax revenue from the small business sector.

In fact, there has been a backlash of late about the city’s tax rates for commercial properties and the various policies regarding alarm call out charges and licensing fees to name a few.

The big threat had always been perceived to be the arrival of the Big Box stores as promised in the much delayed Shopping Village on Highway 16. But even without that competition it seems that the attrition rate for local businesses is quite high.

Those that are trying to stay alive in the commercial sector must be wondering if city hall is listening to their concerns; and will offer some relief or suggestions on how to improve the hurdles that they face. Otherwise there may be a few more stores that will soon be taking out the Closing Out ads in the local newspapers.