The final Christmas tree has been sold, the last pot of jam judged. Downtown Home & Garden, a cornerstone of the Ann Arbor, Michigan community for 119 years, has closed its doors for good, its owner confirming the shop is now empty of stock.
A Community Hub Falls Silent
For generations, the store was far more than a simple retailer. Locals flocked there for seasonal essentials, from festive firs to spring soil, and for its unique character, attending packed holiday parties and quirky homemade pickle contests. Owner Kelly Vore, who ran the business for 11 years, described it as a vital community space where people connected away from divisive 'hot topics'.
'In spirit, we could not be matched,' Vore told the Daily Mail, recounting how she has recently consoled weeping customers coming to say farewell. 'You can buy this stuff anywhere else... Now, there's just one less place to do that.'
The Crushing Weight of Rising Costs
The decision to close was driven by an unsustainable financial squeeze. Vore explained that while customer numbers had recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the costs of insurance, wages, and taxes had skyrocketed. The final blow was a 26 percent rent increase from her landlord.
'Our formula was always snug — we were never rolling in abundant cash, and everything is much more expensive than when I took over,' she said. The strain began during the 2020 lockdowns, when the shop was forced to close despite selling essential gardening supplies like seeds and soil, while some larger competitors remained open.
'If our landlord can do better than me, he should. We're just getting out of the way,' Vore added.
Part of a National Wave of Closures
The shuttering of Downtown Home & Garden is not an isolated incident. It reflects a brutal year for physical retail, particularly for independent shops. According to data from Coresight Research shared with the Daily Mail, 8,234 US stores have permanently closed so far this year—a record high and a 12% increase on last year's previous record.
While major chain bankruptcies like Rite Aid contributed to the figure, small businesses in sectors like home goods have been acutely affected. Recent months have seen the demise of other long-standing retailers, including a 103-year-old sports store and a 90-year-old hardware shop, all citing similar pressures from higher costs and softer consumer spending.
'The desire to be in this kind of business is still very high, but there are numerous reasons that made us close,' Vore stated. 'Nobody is giving up without a fight.' The shop's final day of trading was December 24, and its ten employees have now left. The premises, located less than two miles from the University of Michigan's football stadium, now hold little more than empty shelves and wall pegs, a silent testament to a vanished community hub.
