Artista to close in Mt. Airy

One of Artista’s owners says there just isn’t enough daytime foot traffic in the heart of Mt. Airy’s commercial district for her to stay in business. Artista at 7151 Germantown Ave. sells jewelry, clothes and fine crafts.

Kathy Robinson says the restaurants are attracting people to the Ave. but mainly in the evenings, She responded by staying open late a couple of nights a week, but that didn’t translate into more sales.

She runs the store with her business partner Mary Lui Yoder. She says it was a sad moment when they decided to close the business. The first signs of trouble were when the looked at the sales figures from the 2010 holiday season. “Our figures were down from the year before,” Robinson said. By the time Mother’s Day came it was clear to both of them things were not improving.

It has been a tough run for Artista. It was not long after the store opened in March 2006 before Germantown Ave. was torn up for repairs. “After that the economy went and people were really cutting back. So I think the growth that could have happened in Mt. Airy was put on hold,” she said.