A Little Something to close downtown Port Huron store

After more than a decade of serving shoppers at its downtown Port Huron store, A Little Something is slated to close its doors later this spring.

The shop, which is run by nonprofit Touchstone Services, announced the news on its Facebook page on Sunday. Its final day will be at the end of May.

By midday Monday, manager Janae Kerrigan said there’d been a lot of response and support from local residents.

However, she said the economic slump that may be affecting other small-town retail operations in downtowns was a big reason for the closure, in addition to larger difficulty over the last few years.

“Business just isn’t what it used to be,” Kerrigan said. “A lot of people are upset by it. Luckily, we are a nonprofit, and because of that, we were able to stay open as long as we have.”

Since the announcement, both Kerrigan, who's been with Touchstone for five years ago, and Lucie DeLine, a former manager of the store and more recently its events coordinator, said they've heard a lot from local residents who share in their upset about the closure.

"People constantly — even today — will ask me about it," DeLine said Tuesday.

“Our employees, we have to figure other things out, but the company is supportive of everything,” Kerrigan said of the store. “... I was excited for the changes they were going to do. I understand from the business standpoint and just not having the money coming in. I get it. But being a part of the company for so long … honestly, I’m heartbroken.”

Despite store's closure, nonprofit will remain ice cream vendor at Pine Grove Park

A Little Something first opened at 205 Huron Ave. in 2012 through Touchstone, helping those with employment barriers gain job experience with profits going toward the nonprofit’s programs.

It first introduced ice cream in 2018 — with Touchstone becoming a vendor for the city of Port Huron two years later to serve ice cream at the Pine Grove Park concessions building.

Last year, the downtown shop introduced Faygo ice cream to its visitors. Then, early this year, plans were in motion to eliminate the majority of its retail inventory to focus more on its ice cream and treats, and a renovation was slated for this spring.

Although the latter isn’t happening, A Little Something will still be the seasonal vendor at Pine Grove.

Nancy Winzer, the city’s parks and recreation director, confirmed the continued arrangement, adding, “They’re very good and really successful. We’re happy to have them again.”

DeLine said ice cream has become a big part of their business, adding individuals the nonprofit set up to work at the store will be able to work at the park. She said they'll keep the same kind of variety of ice cream, including no-sugar-added and dairy-free, in addition to hotdogs, pretzels, and more.

What's next for 205 Huron Ave.?

A call to the nonprofit’s Port Huron office wasn’t immediately returned as of Monday afternoon.

DeLine, who'd been with the company for 12 years, said they hoped to take any remaining merchandise at A Little Something up to the camp store the nonprofit also runs at Lakeport State Park.

Normal business hours at A Little Something were to continue through the end of this month, Kerrigan said. Those are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, according to their Facebook page. Kerrigan said daily hours could be adjusted to 4 to 9 p.m. in May.

When asked about A Little Something’s departure, Downtown Development Authority Director Natacha Hayden called them a “delight” to the area.

DeLine said she'd miss the presence and involvement they had with the downtown area. "I really felt like a big part of downtown," she said.

The building is owned by a trust in realtor Gerry Kramer’s name. On Monday, Kramer said they don’t usually market properties until occupants have left. Others on the block range from retail to financial offices, and Kramer said A Little Something’s space is similarly versatile.

“You can do a lot of things there,” Kramer said. “There’s a lot of people that want to come to downtown. Downtown’s on hot right now, so we like to see that.”

DeLine added, "I'm jus hoping somebody would maybe like to buy our ice cream cabinets. It'd be nice if they stayed there and rented from Gerry."

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: A Little Something to closed its doors at downtown Port Huronstore