Farmstead Primitive Co., a women’s boutique in Chatham, has closed just shy of its five-year anniversary.
“I’m going to miss all my customers, but between my health and the economy it didn’t make sense to keep going,” said owner Allyson Taapken-Matrisch.
She originally launched the boutique retail store in November 2019 and had a location on North Main Street in Chatham. In January 2022, Taapken-Matrisch relocated to 1029 Jason Place, in the County Market shopping center. She said it provided better visibility and twice as much square footage, allowing her to expand her offerings to include clothing, gift items and children’s products.
However, Taapken-Matrisch said
she still struggled with foot traffic in the new location and didn’t see an influx of
customers unless she was running a sale. Her last day
of operations was July 27 and items were heavily discounted in the final
days.
“I saw more customers in the past week than I have in the past month,” she said.
Taapken-Matrisch said she hasn’t
ruled out switching to an
online store, but doesn’t have anything in the works. “I might eventually try to sell online, but I haven’t had very good luck with that
in the past,” she said.
For now, she plans to take a break
from retail sales. “The
biggest component that led to me closing was my
health,” Taapken-Matrisch said. “It was affecting my home life as
well as my health, and it just wasn’t worth it.”
