Kara Munn knows it was the right decision, but it didn't make it any easier to make.
After running Meow! New and Pre-Loved Clothing Boutique in the basement at 10 Carden St. for almost 11 years Munn has decided to close the store for good in late June.
The other half of the business, Royal Cat Records new and used vinyl, is relocating to its own space around the corner at 21 Macdonell St. and running two locations was going to be just too much, Munn said.
"It wasn't an easy decision, I'm really, really going to miss it," says Munn, who will run the record store while her partner in life and business, Bryan Munn, runs their Sweet! Ice Cream, Candy and Chocolate store just down the block.
It was something she had been thinking of doing for a couple of months.
"It's not the kind of decision you make overnight," Munn said of her reluctant decision.
"We have a lot of regulars that are going to miss us. We've been there over 10 years and they think you're never going to close," Munn said.
All clothing at the store is 50 per cent off. Accessories and jewellery are 25 per cent off as she replenishes the shelves throughout the week to try and move her stock.
Royal Cat Records will open at its new location around the same time Meow! closes, she said.
Munn said there's a lot of competition in the used clothing segment in Downtown Guelph and she has seen sales go down over the last three years. It pretty much used to be her and Wild Rose on Macdonell Street. There are at least two other used clothing stores within a block of Meow! now.
Running both a record store and a clothing store in the same location also took its toll, she says.
"All the extra work. Is it worth it?" she asked herself.
"The records take a lot of my time now and sometimes I get the feeling I'm not doing enough with them," she said.
She said the record business grew steadily while the clothing business sales kept going down.
Munn, who sold a second Meow! in Waterloo three years ago said it might not be the end of her foray into the clothing sector.
"I might do it again in a few years," she says. "But right now it's time to close it."
