Katydids at Maple & Main ‘Happy to Still be in Business’

Katie Stewart faced an extremely difficult decision last fall and it was one she didn’t take lightly.

Stewart clearanced the inventory in her store, Katydids at Maple & Main, sold off her front counter and flower pots and prepared to accept her losses.

“I can honestly say this is not just my business. We are in a bad recession and had some pretty tough choices,” Stewart said. “The only choice we felt that we had was to close the store. We could support it anymore with our funds. That was the only thing that we could do – close the doors. We could not represent the holiday season the way that we had in the past.”

Past Christmas seasons included about a half dozen themed Christmas trees. This Christmas, though, Stewart didn’t intend to be open. She was pushing her products out the door as she prepared to shut down the shop that carries gourmet food items and home décor.

That all changed when the word got out about the closing sales.

“We just had tons of people come, and we sold through tons of merchandise,” Stewart said. “We were able to pay off some financial situations that we had. In the back of my mind I am thinking, ‘I still have my lease, and I still have to pay it, which that is the right thing to do.’ I thought, ‘why would I not continue to try to make things work here since I have that obligation, not only to my landlords but to the bank as well.’ That is why we thought, ‘OK, let’s bring the gourmet products back for the holidays.’”

The little boost from the sale of inventory, even if it was sold at 50 percent off, helped the store turn around. Instead of shutting the doors for the last time in 2010, Katydids is still business and Stewart is fighting to survive through the economic downturn.

That is why she is having a “still-in-business open house” for her customers during Saturday’s art crawl. The art crawl is being held in downtown Waukesha from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“We want to see the downtown thrive and all work together, so that is why we are kind of having these “we are happy to still be in business open houses with my neighbors,” said Stewart, who also held an open house for the area businesses last week.

While continuing to keep Katydids open – Stewart’s lease expires in the fall – some adjustments had to be made. Stewart said she is trying to come back to life with a smaller amount of inventory but with new merchandise and gourmet products.

“The more people we have in shopping, the more inventory I can buy,” Stewart said. “It is all dictated by what people are spending. I feel that people are opening up a little bit.”