The Block To Shop has become a superb shopping mecca for many of Edmonton’s fashionistas over the last 10 years. With this being said, it is truly devastating to hear that this part of Edmonton’s downtown core could eventually transform to the worst if it’s up to the wrong people. In a positive/yet negative, Lux Beauty is vacating their quaint shop and moving into Ginger Boutique. The synergy of the two stores in one will be invigorating and exciting. The true issue arises as to what store will take over Lux’s shop and will it fit into the vision of what the Block to Shop is supposed to be.

Hear the voice of a concerned business owner (from Lux Beauty) and share in her passion to enhance the beauty of our city:

“As you know, I am a huge advocate of “nurturing our urban fabric”, creating interesting, dynamic districts in the city, supporting local streetfront commercial areas instead of bland old malls & power centres, blah blah etc etc. I put a huge amount of energy into creating visions for what our city could be and coming up with (simple! inexpensive! realistic!) ideas for what we can do to get it there.

I have done this for 10 years on this little stretch of 124 Street (presently known as The Block to Shop) where my store is located. I chose this location in 1999 when there were tumbleweeds in the streets and black garbage bags blocking out my neighbour’s windows. Everyone thought I was crazy but I had values and a vision and I was going to stick with it, Edmontonian shopping habits be damned! Ten years later, our Block is filled with an awesome collection of young-women-owned boutiques, our area has become a cool shopping destination, and our landlord (he owns the entire strip) is joyfully supporting his tenants and reaping the rewards.”

According to Jennifer Grimm, the owner of Lux Beauty, her landlord presented her with an unfair ultimatum, of having to pay a ridiculous rate per square foot which is typically above average costs for retail spaces, that he was going to retro-actively apply this rate a few months back and giving her little time to vacate the premise.

Jennifer has a point, “Our little block, at which we’ve worked so hard to make in to someplace special, could, thanks to landlord indifference and poor management, could very well revert to being a ghost town in a couple of years. Imagine the effect on a city-wide scale if our politicians, policy makers, and population possess the same indifference.”

It is up to us Edmonton, we are all ultimately the decision makers that decide whether our city continues to sizzle or not. We all need to do our part and continue to support Edmonton’s local business initiatives. Let’s hope the Block To Shop can sustain it self through this turmoil. In the meantime, stay tuned for the new opening of Lux Beauty in Ginger coming mid-October.