The Hope Shop to close Government Street storefront

Just weeks after DIY Disco announced its November closure, another Government Street shop is closing its doors.

Next-door neighbor The Hope Shop by Hands Producing Hope has announced its plans to close on Dec. 22.

Founder and owner Rebecca Gardner says declining sales and rising overhead costs drove her decision to close.

“As we evaluated all the costs that have gone into keeping a physical storefront open, we don’t have the capacity to ride it out for a couple more years,” Gardner says. “We were able to make it work for a while, but as our costs continued to rise, our sales did not follow.”

Gardner says she noticed a big push for shopping with local businesses around the pandemic. However, she senses that shoppers now favor shopping with big brands, assuming they’re more cost-effective, which Gardner contends is a myth.

After a tough year of sales in 2023, in-store sales at The Hope Shop in 2024 were down 30% from previous years. Additionally, Gardner confides, the cost of rent wasn’t feasible.

“The people in real estate on Government Street treat it like it’s Magazine Street and it’s not,” Gardner says. “All the rent is so insane. It feels like they’re charging for what they want Government Street to be one day instead of charging for places to come and stay now. We all want it to get cooler here and it has been, but also things are priced for chain companies, not small local businesses. That’s the disconnect I’ve seen. I hope that does not continue.”

Leading up to her storefront closure, Gardner is selling her inventory with up to 75% discounts. In the meantime, she plans to pivot The Hope Shop to sell in local pop-up shops, events and online.

The Hope Shop sells fair-trade goods at Light House Coffee, Local Supply and Mustard Seed Creamery in Denham Springs. Gardner says she has two pop-up store placements in the works for The Hope Shop in Mid City and the Perkins Rowe area.

The entrepreneur also plans to enhance her wholesale reach by selling more fair-trade items in stores nationwide. But opening another storefront is not off the table.

The Hope Shop is the latest store on Government Street to announce plans to close since the Road Diet was completed in 2021 to make the street more business, pedestrian and bike friendly.

This story originally appeared in a Nov. 27 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.