LAKE STEVENS — Tom Pedersen lugged a large custom-framed painting outside his shop Thursday morning, signaling the beginning of another business day in Frontier Village.
A few doors down the way, shoppers picked apart the nearly bare racks at Joe’s Sports as the retailer prepared to close up shop that night for the final time.
The sporting goods store is one of three major closures in Frontier Village.
“The center is pretty vacant,” Pedersen said.
For more than 20 years, Pedersen has operated Quality Image Gallery at the shopping center. He can’t recall seeing more vacancies at Frontier Village.
“It’s always been pretty full,” he said.
Joe’s, a Portland, Ore.,-based chain, shuttered all of its stores here in the Northwest including the Frontier Village site. In addition to Joe’s, an arts-and-crafts store, Craft Star, has closed. And, as of mid-June, Bridges Pets will shut down its Lake Stevens location and operate only out of its Snohomish store.
Pedersen doesn’t see the closings as a reflection on the popularity of Frontier Village. The Joe’s store was one of the chain’s more popular sites; and the craft store owner wanted to retire, Pedersen said.
But losing three anchor retailers inevitably will lead to a drop in foot traffic in front of small shops such as Quality Image Gallery. However, Pedersen considers many of the stores like his as “destination locations” that aren’t dependent on casual shoppers. The village houses several hair and nail salons, a Sears optical shop and a GNC vitamin store.
Quality Image’s business is down — a given for an upscale industry in a down economy. But mom-and-pop custom framing shops have been dwindling for nearly a decade, Pedersen said.
The back wall inside Quality Image is lined with frame samples — shiny black metal, ornate gold and subdued silver. A stack of framing mats lie on the counter.
“If you wanted a nice frame, you used to have to come here,” Pedersen said.
But shoppers have turned their attention online and to big box crafts stores for their art and framing needs. As a result, Pedersen has watched rival shops around the county close their doors.
Quality Image once employed five people but is down to two. That means Pedersen works every other weekend, he said, with a grimace.
But Pedersen isn’t giving up on his store, or on Frontier Village, just yet. Quality Image is getting ready for a sidewalk sale in the coming weeks, and Pedersen might boost his advertising just to let customers know the store’s still there.
“This has always been a really busy center,” Pedersen said.
He’s hoping it will stay that way.
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