DECATUR, Ill (WICS) — Another small business may soon shut its doors…
And owners say it highlights some of the challenges facing small business owners.
Last year around Christmastime, we spoke with many businesses in downtown Decatur on some of the difficulties facing them.
Since then, both of those businesses, The Art Farm and All Things Beautiful Gift Boutique, have closed or are closing.
Sheryol Threewit, owner of All Things Beautiful Gift Boutique, said there’s a lot of factors that go into those decisions…but she highlighted some of the main issues facing businesses.
“The weather. That is like our main challenge is the weather. When it goes out, people don’t wanna go out,” Threewit said. She said there was low turnout on Small Business Saturday due to the snow storm.
“We had–it was terrible. But we had Christmas walk like four days later and a lot of us made up for what we would’ve made on small business,” Threewit said.
Threewit said the decision to close was ultimately just business.
Robert Palmer, the owner of Brooktree Film Lab, said convenience is another issue.
“I think some of the biggest challenges that small businesses face in a small town like Decatur is competition from online resources. It’s so easy just to go on Google, type in what you want, and there’s hundreds of different businesses that are gonna have it for you,” Palmer said. “But you know kind of drilling that down and finding something locally, just helps impact us as a community much more.”
Seeing other businesses close can be a source of stress.
“It is terrifying. You know, it’s one of those things that we always have to look out for and it’s really important that we keep evolving and trying to meet our customers where they want to be met,” Palmer said.
But Palmer said the best way to support is to make the switch.
“It’s really the snowball that starts the avalanche. You know, once you start shopping local, that dollar stays local and it goes to more things in the community and it helps boost more than one business,” Palmer said.
Threewit said she’s been in business for around 14 years and while she doesn’t want to close, she said its just business.
The Art Farm closed back in May. All Things Beautiful will close around March 2026.
