As the holiday season is in full swing, many stores are offering big-ticket seasonal items.
For Rains, an independently owned clothing boutique for men and women in downtown Portland, Oregon, the fear of having another break-in where those items could be stolen is too high a risk — so much so that the store has chosen to shutter it’s doors for good.
After an astonishing 15 vandalisms in just a year and a half, owner Marcy Landolfo posted a notice on the front door telling customers that the showers would no longer be open.
The owner of Rance told me after five break-ins in about three weeks, he made the sudden decision to close permanently. The workers here are putting the pressure on the city to take care of small businesses dealing with ongoing challenges with crime. pic.twitter.com/XyP2p6PR6W
— Megan Ellison (@mallisonKATU) November 26, 2022
“Small businesses (and large) cannot continue to do business in the current state of our city. We have no protection or recourse against criminal behavior that goes unpunished,” the sign reads. “Don’t be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover the losses. We’ve had 15 break-ins… We haven’t received any financial reimbursement since the third.”
The note states that small businesses are central to the fabric that makes up the downtown Portland community and that if crime continues at its current rate, the city may lose what makes it “unique” and quintessentially Portland encourages citizens to continue supporting small businesses ahead of the influx of holiday shopping.
Landolfo told local outlet KATU2 The decision comes after it lost an “out of pocket” amount on a recent break-in and the losses and damages caused are “not sustainable” for the business.
She told the outlet, “The products that are being targeted are very expensive winter products and I just felt like it the minute I was getting them in the store.”
The owner of Rains also claims that there are other “shenanigans” going on at the store, including people wandering under the influence of drugs or mental health episodes, which have led to “senseless vandalism” by his employees as well as his storefront. “scared”. windows.
Sadly, the shuttering of Rains isn’t the first in the city.
Starbucks made headlines last summer when it decided to close two store locations on opposite sides of the street in Portland because of high crime levels. It was another shutdown in the city this month for the same reason.
Last week, Kim Malek, CEO of Salt & Straw, the beloved national ice cream chain founded in Portland, said he was considering moving the company’s headquarters to the city’s east side.
“I don’t know what choice I have,” she said. “I can’t stay there. I can’t do it.”
The most recent crime report for the City of Portland cites 6,413 burglaries and 10,220 assault crimes in October 2022.
