Charlotte staple The People's Market has closed both locations
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The People's Market served coffees, pastries, sandwiches, salads, pizzas and more. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
The People's Market has closed both of its locations because of a "perfect storm" of challenges, owner Cory Duran tells Axios.
Why it matters: The all-day cafe was a Charlotte staple and cherished neighborhood hangout, first in Dilworth and later in Elizabeth and Myers Park.
Context: The People's Market originally opened in 2017 in the former 131 Main space on East Boulevard.
- That location closed in February 2020, and the business reopened in the former Earl's Grocery space on Elizabeth Avenue in 2022.
- The People's Market opened a second location on Selwyn Avenue in Myers Park earlier this year.
- It also previously had plans for locations in Uptown and LoSo. Duran also had planned to open a separate business, The Writer's Room bar, in the former Protagonist spot in NoDa. Duran has paused all those efforts.
By the numbers: Duran says it cost roughly $800,000 to open the Myers Park location. The business also experienced an electrical fire over the summer that damaged its HVAC system, costing roughly $30,000 to repair. Total equipment repairs and replacements, both related to the fire and otherwise, cost more than $50,000 over the summer.
- Then there was the rising cost of food.
- "The wear and tear and just everything happening all at the exact same time, is what was the downfall," Duran says.
Between the lines: Duran says he applied for a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, and then the government shut down.
- "It's a lot of would've, could've, should'ves," Duran says. "I wish that the government didn't shut down. I wish that I'd won the Power Ball. I wish I was in a better place to weather this type of storm, but it was literally like Murphy's Law. Everything bad thing that could happen happened. And it all happened at the exact same time."
- Then last month, his father unexpectedly passed away.
The bottom line: "I just couldn't keep pushing forward without affecting the level of service that we were giving," Doran says.
What's next: Duran has no plans for another location at this time.