Two businesses in downtown Madison closed this month — a Carvel ice cream shop on Main Street and a women’s clothing and accessory store on Waverly Place called Stitch Boutique.
The closures were first reported by TAPinto Madison, a local news site, which cited notices on the store windows announcing the closures.
“After eight wonderful years in business, I’m very sad to say that Stitch Boutique will be closing our doors,” the owner, Caitlin Rinaldi, said on a Facebook video. The last day of operation was Aug. 17, according to posts on Facebook.
Rinaldi explained in the video that she previously moved to Austin, Texas to take care of her two children, and that her mother-in-law, Jennifer, had been dealing with some of the day-to-day operations.
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“We were both kind of on the same page that we are ready to take a step down and focus more on our family in this next chapter of our lives,” she continued.
Calls to both businesses went unanswered, as did emails to Stitch and the Carvel parent company.
Store closings have outpaced openings this year
Their end of operation comes as, nationwide, store closures exceeded openings for the first time in two years, amid an era of heightened interest rates which have piled onto the cost of doing business. Companies have in turn shrunk hiring and held off on new construction.
Big Lots is closing one store in New Jersey, in Woodbridge. Up to 600 Family Dollar stores across the U.S closed in 2024, according to an announcement earlier this year. Stop & Shop is closing 10 stores in New Jersey.
Pharmacy chain Rite Aid has closed more than 40 stores in New Jersey since filing for bankruptcy last fall. Bob’s Stores closed its one New Jersey location, in Freehold. The LL Flooring bankruptcy entails the closure of three New Jersey stores.
Discount gym chain Blink Fitness also declared bankruptcy as it struggled to capture the post-COVID fitness market, and plans to close 10% of its stores.
Interest rate cut likely coming
On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell provided the strongest signal yet that the central bank plans to begin cutting historically high interest rates in September.
“The time has come for policy to adjust,” Powell said Friday at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.”
“While the task is not complete, we have made a good deal of progress toward that outcome,” he said. “My confidence has grown that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2 percent,” which is the Fed’s inflation goal.
This article contains information from USA Today
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
Email: [email protected]; Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook
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