BALTIMORE — If you like to shop local, well, it doesn't get any more local than this. Juliana Stube makes sure that whenever you buy something from her specialty pet supply store - you're directly supporting the Baltimore economy.
"When I'm not sewing my products in store, and I have a large batch, there's a factory I work with that's also in Pigtown, and it's right next to my childhood home," Stube said.
Stube opened her storefront - Chateau de MarMutt - less than a year ago. She came in with high hopes - wanting to turn the narrative that brick and mortar retail is dying on its head. That optimism is quickly fading.
"Small Business Saturday was kind of a flop. Black Friday and Christmas Eve - it was quite sad," Stube said.
She's already considering closing her doors and moving her business entirely online. But she's not going out without a fight.
For the month of January, she's hosting a "not going out of business sale" with big discounts on her products. We've all seen it happen - a store announces a 'going out of business' sale, and suddenly, there's hordes of shoppers there.
Stube is using that marketing tactic - to stay in business instead.
"What I would miss the most are the locals, and the dogs, with their happy faces, visiting me and dressing them up in person," Stube explained.
And customers would miss out too. The specialty pet clothing, toys, and treats - sure, you can find something similar from a big online retailer, but supporting a small local business has extra perks.
"They don't know their name, their personality, what treats they like," she said of the larger retailers.
But Stube says it's not just the slow foot traffic that's causing her to rethink her decision to go brick-and-mortar.
"Unfortunately there has been a good amount of crime in Federal Hill. And it definitely has contributed to my reasoning for wanting to potentially close the storefront. I just hope that this crime is not preventing people from shopping on Main Street. And I would like to encourage them to do so because if you don't shop local, there won't be local," Stube.
