It is a bittersweet goodbye. After 40 years on the corner of Main and Cedar streets, Village Clock Shop closed its doors Saturday.
“It’s been an incredible ride. Thanks!” Andy Brogden, owner of Village Clock Shop said to the community.
Brogden managed the business since 1982 and bought it in 1999. Since then, the store had grown to three locations and, at one point, nine stores during the holiday season. The remaining store on Main Street is moving to a new home at the Clay Terrace Mall to allow the store to expand its line to include bedroom, dining room, leather upolstered furniture and more home accessories with clocks and wine cabinets remaining a foundation of the business. The new location will open Feb. 6.
Brogden deliberated this “tough decision” for years, doing his due diligence with a pilot from June to mid-August 2010 at Clay Terrace. After having success at that temporary location, he started looking toward the future.
“Simon talked to us, and we were shocked at the rent there (Clay Terrace) compared to Zionsville,” Brogden said. “It was so competitive.”
The increase in rent at his Zionsville location was one of many factors involved in Brogden’s decision to move, and he attributes that rent increase to property taxes.
“Property taxes on the buildings have gone up, so owners have been forced to raise the rent. Landlords pass that along to renters,” Brogden said.
As a resident of Zionsville since 1976, Brogden admits he doesn’t have all the answers to the challenges merchants face downtown, with increasing rent and lower foot traffic, but he is hopeful that things will turn around.
“We gotta think outside the box. We can’t put our heads in the sand. Life’s about compromise – with customers, kids, everything,” Brodgen said. “We want dowtown to succeed. We’re saddened we may not be a part of the great comeback, but it’s a business decision.”
Despite leaving Main Street, some things will stay the same. The name, Village Clock Shop, will remain with one addition – Village Clock Shop & Home Furnishings.
“We’re keeping the old but starting anew,” he said.
The Village Clock Shop & Home Furnishings
14299 Clay Terrace Blvd.
Carmel, IN 46032
873-3462
www.villageclockshop.com
Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
