The phrase ‘when one door closes, another one opens,’ could have been used to describe the businesses in Grand Junction. However, more doors have been closing rather than opening.
The town has experienced multiple business closures in the past two years. Grand Junction lost corporations like Aeropostale, Albertsons, GAP Outlet, Hastings, Hollister, Kmart, Safeway and Sports Authority. Some local businesses have closed or are currently in the process of closing, like Girlfriends, Page-Parsons, Tangle and Toys For The Fun of It.
The recent closing of Albertsons will leave 60 individuals unemployed. Many students are also affected, as Albertsons was located near the CMU campus. Another corporation, GAP Outlet, closed their Mesa Mall store back in February, due to its decrease in economic value.
“GAP closed because we weren’t making enough sales to keep the Grand Junction store open,” Colorado Mesa University business student Andrea Potter said. “Instead of making a profit out of the store, the company was actually losing revenue.”
CMU students are one small part of the equation affected by business closures.
“With a lot of company’s closing in Grand Junction, I am truly saddened because companies gained revenue from expanding the town,” Potter said. “And once the job is over, business that were gaining the revenue from the workers are now losing them because they either had to move or they lost their job (construction and oil field workers).”
After many years of serving Grand Junction, local businesses are shutting down their operations or trying to stay afloat. Toys For The Fun of It is a toy store owned by Mike Allen. The store is closing due to the competition of online sources.
“It’s sad, but I’ve had a really good run here,” Allen said. “My sales volume had dropped and it’s mainly due to people buying toys online. Essentially, you get to the point that you’re just not making it anymore. This past Christmas was the worst past Christmas.”
After 24 years of providing entertainment for children, the toy store is closing at the end of March.
List of businesses that have closed:
The Safeway
Kmart
Albertsons
Tangle
Page-Parsons
Girlfriends
Toys For The Fun of It
Sports Authority
GAP
Aeropostale
Hollister
Hastings
