Colorado Springs business relocating after 40 years Downtown

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – After 40 years in downtown Colorado Springs, a locally-owned business is moving up north.

Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. is a locally-owned branch of a chain of shoe stores, operated by Ryan Prickett, the store’s managing partner. He said he has loved operating in the downtown area of the Springs, enjoying the culture of local shoppers and business owners.

But ever since the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago, Prickett said his business has been struggling to bounce back.

“We feel like there’s been issues down here that we just can’t overcome that maybe a new location will help,” Prickett had previously said. On Tuesday, he doubled down, explaining those reasons more in-depth.

“Issues that have been issues for a long time that are just continuing to be… parking, the homeless being a big deterrent,” Prickett explained. “We are kind of right in the middle of where they hang out and sleep and do all the things that they do downtown.”

He said ever since COVID, shoppers have opted for cheaper prices and greater convenience. He said locally-owned businesses need to keep their prices a little higher, but also that issues of parking and homelessness create a more inconvenient shopping experience, thereby driving people to larger chains rather than local shops.

“I don’t want people to think that we’ve hated downtown, we’ve loved it down here,” he said. “But we’ve had a rough five years of not bouncing back and it’s unfortunately just time for us to move on and try to continue… I would rather move than close.”

Recently, Prickett said he closed on a new lease near Academy and Vickers, near Woodley’s Fine Furniture.

He said he’s hoping to be there by the end of summer, starting a new era for his business and, hopefully, addressing those issues he said has held his store back.

Other businesses in the downtown area have cited similar concerns. Last year, the owners of The Perk Downtown, one of the city’s oldest coffee shops, cited COVID as a reason for shutting down their business and retiring. And near Acacia Park, several other businesses have previously said they often see people experiencing homelessness near their entrances, sometimes disrupting businesses and threatening customers.

Carrie Simison, the director of marketing and communications for the Downtown Partnership, said addressing these concerns has been a primary goal of her organization.

“So, while you’re always going to have issues like that in any urban area, we really are working with the city, and the city is working with the missions and the churches and other nonprofit services to try and get help to people,” Simison said.

Late last year, Simison said the city launched a new program to find people who could use the extra mental health help and get them to the resources they need. Since it launched, she said they’ve identified at least 17 people to help.

“We want everyone to know they’re welcome down here, but not all kinds of behavior are, obviously,” she said.

Simison also highlighted what parking options are available, especially highlighting the parking garages for those who are willing and able to walk a little extra.

“And it’s one thing we pride ourselves on here is one square mile of downtown, with more than 6,000 parking spots,” Simison said.

She also said the upcoming Tejon Street Revitalization Project will likely provide a boost for the area once it’s done. But she said she recognizes some of the hardships businesses have gone through; nonetheless, she said she’s optimistic about the state of the area and the future.

But Prickett said, even with the issue being addressed, it will still be present.

“I think it’s great that they have a program and that they are trying to do things better, to me, it’s still going to be here,” he said. “I get it, there are people and they need to be taken care of, but it’s also a hindrance for people to come shop and do what they want to do downtown.”

Still, Simison said she expects to see improvement. She said many businesses have recently opened, showing a shared optimism for other business owners.

Across the street from Prickett, Solar Roast Coffee, who recently had to close because of a fire next door, has been working to rebuild.

Michael Hertkop, the owner, said they were already locked into a lease before the fire. Still, he said he is committed to seeing Simison’s vision for the future come to fruition.

“We are hoping that we can bring this corner back to life, it’s been really sad to see the district kind of close up a little bit,” Hertkop said. “I hope that some of these buildings fill back up. It’s really something else to watch things close and not turn around, so I’m hoping that more stores open up.”

Hertkop said he expects to be back open by the end of March, hopefully contributing to the revitalization of a street corner that has seen hardship in the past couple of years.

And even though he’ll be across town, Prickett said he’ll still be supporting his soon-to-be former neighbors, and the local economy as a whole.

“I hope everybody’s successful,” he said. “I hope it’s thriving, I hope it’s a good place for people to shop and for people to get out and go into shops.”

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