RASCALZ CLOSING
Specialty kids clothing store was mainstay on Charlotte Street for two decades.
The only specialty clothing store dedicated to children in Sydney is going out of business.
Laura Lewis has owned and operated Rascalz Kidz Clothing on Charlotte Street for 20 years. Unlike other shops that have closed over the past several years, it wasn’t financial strain dictating the decision.
Rather, it was Lewis who wanted to leave her years as an entrepreneur behind and move on to “new things.”
What those new plans will be, Lewis is not quite sure at this point.
“I’d love to stay in the downtown area,” she said. “I’d hope to get a job, maybe, in tourism, something to do with downtown Sydney because I still am very passionate about it.”
It was the long hours, the responsibility of owning the store that was pressure she didn’t want any longer.
“I’m not getting any younger,” Lewis, 52, said. “I think it’s time for a change for me. That’s all it’s really about.”
Rascalz opened initially at Smart Shop Place for its first five years before moving down Charlotte Street to its current location.
Before she owned the clothing store, Lewis was the manager of Rita’s Tea Room in Big Pond, operating it for her mother, Rita MacNeil.
The head of the Sydney Waterfront District Association doesn’t believe the space that will be left vacant by Lewis will be shut for long.
Michelle Wilson, executive director of the association, said she’s optimistic a new tenant can be found to fill that location.
“There is a cycle in business and it’s not like Laura set up shop a few weeks ago and threw in the towel. She’s been around for a very long time and, you know, businesses close for various reasons,” Wilson said.
She said there appears to be a sense of optimism in Sydney and in the waterfront district.
“I don’t think a (business closing)
“I’m not getting any younger. I think it’s time for a change for me. That’s all it’s really about.”
Laura Lewis
will deter someone from moving into that space.”
The association’s office has been handling “serious” inquiries from business owners looking to move or relocate to the
downtown but Wilson isn’t able to say much more than that for now.
Lewis said all items in her store are on sale, with little stock left, such as babies christening
gowns and a few toys.
The shop closes for good on Friday.