By Chuck Myron
\n Time is running out for a North Fort Myers furniture store.
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\nThe final day for business will be Saturday, Dec. 16 at Furniture in the Buff in the Hancock Square shopping center on Hancock Bridge Parkway. The owners of the 15-year-old shop said a series of break-ins and vandalism has forced them out.<\/p>\n
Four burglaries and an act of vandalism spurred owners Rick and Valerie Dunn to decide in August to close the North Fort Myers store and concentrate on their Arbor House furniture gallery in south Fort Myers.<\/p>\n
The Dunns were hit again after they made their decision, when the license plate was removed from the store\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s delivery truck while it sat parked by the store.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just throwing my arms up and saying \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWhat else?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Valerie Dunn said.<\/p>\n
The incidents are under investigation by the Lee County Sheriff\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Office.<\/p>\n
The lease on the 4,000-square-foot space is up Dec. 31, and Valerie Dunn said she chose Dec. 16 as the final day so she could spend time with her family over the holidays. She said she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sold about half of the store\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inventory and will haul the rest to Arbor House.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153To transfer everything down there, it will be a couple grand,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n
She estimates they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re losing about 40 to 60 percent of the customer base by making the move.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a risk, but I have no choice,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n
Ann Sherwood-Palmer, who took over Tracy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Flower Shop about a year ago in the same commercial plaza, said the store hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been hit by crime lately and believes the area is a good place to do business.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a hot spot,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re very well situated to serve the north part of the Cape. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more business-to-business opportunities and business-to-public opportunities.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Pam Burgess, who opened Petite Repeat Pre-Loved Children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Clothes and More this month next door to Furniture in the Buff, wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t concerned about her neighbor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to leave and believes a new store will take its place soon.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They do pull a lot of business in here but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to hurt us too bad,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This is a very busy shopping center.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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