THUNDER BAY — The operators of a long-time city business will shut the doors of their physical location in the historic former CN railway station in the coming weeks and pivot to being strictly an online operation.
Kuhl Interiors announced its decision not to renew its lease for the space on social media.
The owners this week declined to comment to Dougall Media, but their Facebook post cited multiple factors for the decision, including the implementation of paid parking at Marina Park last year.
They called that "one of the most detrimental" setbacks that affected their business.
"Paid parking caused a loss of revenue in the hundreds of thousands of dollars the first six months alone, as city residents boycotted the marina. Curiously, we were not at all consulted by the city with respect to what paid parking would do to our business. This is despite our store being in a city-owned property."
The former railway depot is leased from the city by Winnipeg-based Chartier Property Management.
Kuhl Interiors, which also operates Windy Shores Cafe in the same building, revealed in 2020 that it would be relocating there.
Thunder Bay city council is currently considering a recommendation from city administration to offer time-limited free parking, including at Marina Park.
In their post, the owners of the business said they were also impacted by the pandemic, a leaking roof, a crumbling patio, and issues with the heating system.
"Despite our many successes as a retail operation, the stressors described above were too much to handle."
The business name and brand is up for sale, but they plan to continue to order lighting and rugs and offer them through their website.
Any outstanding gift cards will be honoured until May 31.
The post expresses gratitude to the company's loyal clientele for the past 15 years, saying they helped to make Kuhl Interiors a First Nations success story.
Gisele MacDonald, president of Chartier Property Management, told Newswatch she was surprised when she heard the business was leaving.
She said she's aware metered parking has significantly impacted customer traffic, but said Chartier had not been informed of any leaks in the relatively new roof, or any other serious maintenance issues with the property.
MacDonald said the company strives to keep the building in good shape, and has already heard from parties interested in leasing the soon-to-be vacant space.
