Bay 7 Vintage closed their physical Jefferson St. location on August 28, one of a handful of recent Johnson County small businesses closures.
Waylon O’Donnell | Daily Journal
Johnson County has recently seen a number of small businesses permanently shut their doors, citing a variety of factors. Most have referenced a significant struggle to keep up with today’s economy and rising prices.
The Grove Café opened up in Bargersville in March 2022. The family-owned eatery specialized in breakfast and lunch foods, and also had a 4.5 star rating from 57 Facebook reviewers.
The café announced its closure on Sept. 29, a move owner Chris Bufkin referenced was hindered by the economy and a difficult time finding employees.
“We had a good returning customer base and a very wide demographic,” Bufkin said. “And we were expanding to keep up with a younger demographic. We just couldn’t keep up with it.
“The economy was definitely part of it — rising expenses and then people’s resistance to raising prices. Obviously the employee pool is quite difficult at the moment.”
Bufkin was not the only business owner who credited their business alteration to a harshly-perceived economy. Clay Ballard, the owner of Bay 7 Village, also mentioned the economy played a factor in closing their storefront.
Bay 7 Vintage originally opened six years ago in Greenwood before moving the businesses to downtown Franklin. The décor store garnered a 4.7 star rating on Facebook from 57 reviews.
As of Aug. 28, the business closed its physical location and now operates solely online.
“I just think it’s the economy in general,” Ballard said. “Our family is cutting back on spending at the same time. It’s just how it is right now.”
Ballard emphasized that he didn’t blame the local economy, but instead the national economy. However, he did say that Bay 7 Vintage’s Franklin location contributed to the storefront shutting down.
“We did really well in Greenwood,” Ballard said. “We had a little bit of a different business model, but it was extremely competitive. In Franklin, our business model changed a little bit. We had to charge more because the rent was much higher.”
They also didn’t get the foot traffic they were expecting, he said.
“If we were closer to the other small shops, that possibly may have helped, but there is no fault to any one thing. It’s just kind of how things worked out,” he said.
Another popular business that credited the economy with their closure was Franklin’s Twisted Sicilian. The Italian restaurant, which had a 4.6 star Facebook rating from 240 verified reviews, announced via an Oct. 2 Facebook post that they had ceased operations as of Sept. 30.
“It’s been a tough year with prices rising and the economy in a slump, we were hoping to pull through this summer, but the numbers just weren’t there to keep things afloat,” the post said. “The restaurant business is tough and competitive when you’re a small business, but we have come a long way from farmer’s markets, to a food truck and landing this gem in Franklin.”
Electric Key Records, a Franklin music store with a similar online rating — 4.7 stars from 60 reviews — also announced their plans to permanently close. That closure will be at the end of October.
Two other notable Johnson County business that have recently closed down are The Smoke Hutt and Roux-Ga-Roux’s, also in Franklin.
With all of these closings in mind, the Daily Journal sought answers to see if the economic climate was actually to blame or if there were other factors involved.
Christian Maslowski, president and CEO of Aspire Johnson County, the county-wide chamber of commerce, says the local economy is showing no signs of a downward trend.
“On the industrial and large commercial side, we are not seeing any closings or at least any pattern of closings that give us red flags about the local economy,” Maslowski said. “And of the couple of small business closings I have heard about, again, they are not spelling out any pattern for us, or giving us any red flags about the local economy. The Johnson County economy has typically mirrored or been stronger than national economic trends these last few years.”
The foundations of the local market are strong. Maslowski could only speculate the reasons why some small businesses have closed, he said.
The small business market is difficult and many close their doors within the first few years. It is statistically likely that more small businesses will close as other downtown small businesses grow, Maslowski said.
The recent pattern of small businesses closures likely reflects those statistics, and also the free market determining how many of these businesses can actually thrive downtown, rather than the issue being macroeconomics, he said.
“The blame on the ‘local economy’ might be the local market was just rejecting that business because there were simply too many stores of its kind or the market … is simply not big enough,” Maslowski said. “Sure, costs are up across the board, but so are prices to consumers. So, businesses need to sustain sales volume to remain profitable in a lower margin environment.”
If small businesses cannot sustain the volume of sales needed to continue operation, there could be other factors at play including the absence of internal opportunities, lackluster marketing efforts, or even still, the economy, he said.
Maslowski added that the local customer demographic may not align with the one closed businesses needed to remain afloat. A lack of consumers would result in a difficulty to turn a profit.
Franklin Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rosie Chambers echoed Maslowski. She said that business closures cannot be attributed to just one factor, and they may not be an indication of economic struggle or failure.
“Small businesses are often owned and operated by one individual or one family and the demands of sole proprietorship can be heavy,” Chambers said. “Some decide to close for another opportunity, changes in family dynamics, health reasons or retirement. Whatever the reason, it is a difficult decision and all factors are evaluated including the economy and work satisfaction.”
Johnson County is not alone to seeing rising costs, she said. Inflation, supply chain disruptions and also an increase in consumer demand all contribute to increasing prices. However, Chambers conveyed that even though costs are increasing, so are the amount of shoppers and diners indulging in the Franklin community.
The overarching sense of Franklin’s small business environment is generally optimistic, she said. Both Chambers and Maslowski commended the community’s aesthetics and downtown district. Chambers heralded Franklin’s leadership and Maslowski noted the impact of Festival Country Indiana, the county’s tourism bureau.
