Sherry DelleCurti had hoped that a flurry of sales from Black Friday and Small Business Saturday shoppers would keep Presque Isle Consignment, 2208 W. Eighth St., open after a rough year.
Instead, a winter storm dumped about four feet of snow on Erie in the days after Thanksgiving. DelleCurti was forced to close her Millcreek Township consignment store those days, and later announce that it would go out of business in March.
“Even before the storm hit, the news about it coming was just crazy,” DelleCurti said. “I just kept saying to my family, ‘It’s not going to be good.'”
DelleCurti purchased the former Claudine’s Consignment store two years ago. She previously rented space in the store from its former owner, Claudine Emerson, who had owned it for the previous 12 years.
An artist who specializes in multimedia works and beach glass, DelleCurti had been hosting art classes in the store when she learned Emerson was going to sell it.
“I talked with my husband about it and we ended up buying the business,” DelleCurti said. “The first year it did great, then in 2024 our sales declined by 27%.”
DelleCurti said sales often decline during an election year she was told, but 2024 was particularly tough.
“Just no foot traffic, no sales,” DelleCurti said. “We held on until Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, hoping it would give us a boost. Then the storm came.”
More:The big snow foiled their Small Business Saturday. Erie retailers hope to bounce back
DelleCurti announced the closing in mid-December but the store will remain open until March. Like many consignment stores, DelleCurti has 90-day contracts with the merchandise’s owners and the last of those contracts end in March.
At that point, the owners can take back their items or donate them.
DelleCurti said that she doesn’t regret buying the business. She was able to work with her family, including her 85-year-old father who would sit in a corner of the store and fix various items.
“We were part of the community,” DelleCurti said. “People came here after they had a fire at their house and buy items they needed. We had all types of customers.”
Since the closing was announced on the store’s Facebook page, sales have increased. People want something to take home that reminds them of the store, DelleCurti said.
The sales boost isn’t changing DelleCurti’s mind about closing, though.
“It was just too stressful and the unknown of what is to come this year,” DelleCurti said. “I’m going to lean back on my art.”
Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNBruce.
