OWEGO — Courtyard Gifts, a jewelry and eclectic gift shop, recently moved to Owego after more than four decades in downtown Binghamton. It’s a move the shop’s current owner expects to significantly boost revenue because Owego’s retail environment is a better fit for the shop. Bruce Potter has owned Courtyard Gifts for the past 21 […]
OWEGO — Courtyard Gifts, a jewelry and eclectic gift shop, recently moved to Owego after more than four decades in downtown Binghamton.
It’s a move the shop’s current owner expects to significantly boost revenue because Owego’s retail environment is a better fit for the shop.
Bruce Potter has owned Courtyard Gifts for the past 21 years of its 43-year existence — selling fine jewelry and unique gift items at 163 Washington St. in downtown Binghamton. Facing a steady decline of more than half of the store’s revenue over the past two decades, Potter shuttered the Binghamton store in July and opened in Owego on Aug. 1.
Courtyard Gifts formally opened at 165 Main St. in Owego on Sept. 20 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce.
“Binghamton was the right place for many, many years and when we first started we were doing really — and I mean really — well,” Potter tells CNYBJ. “But then business continued to drop off.”
Potter attributes Courtyard Gifts’ decline in part to a shifting local economy that catered toward students and the rise of online shopping, which has been chipping away at small mom-and-pop shops for years. In Owego, Potter hopes he won’t be beholden to a transient student population with little disposable income.
“Students are attracted to the restaurants, but they will not attract business for the stores,” Potter says, noting that most students either shop online or in their hometowns during breaks in the school year.
Potter decided to move into a bigger space in neighboring Tioga County, which he says has a better retail setting and feels “like a Norman Rockwell painting.” Potter expects to double his sales in the Owego location.
The new store is 1,200 square feet, twice the 600 square feet he had in Binghamton. Potter hired Binghamton–based contractor, Doug Hoffman, for renovations, which he funded with company cash.
Courtyard Gifts sells high-end jewelry and hand-crafted gift items that are either unusual or nostalgic. The merchandise includes hats, lamps, chairs, costumes, necklaces and even lifelike manikins.
Potter says he does not yet know how many employees he will hire in Owego. At one point, Courtyard Gifts had four full-time employees. But by the time the store closed in Binghamton, Potter did not have the revenue to support a single employee. He ran the store by himself while his wife volunteered whenever she could, he says.
Before purchasing Courtyard Gifts in 1996, Potter was a buyer for Endicott Johnson, a famous shoe manufacturer that had been based in Broome County. Courtyard Gifts’ previous owner, Peter Altman, had owned the business since its start in 1973 in downtown Binghamton.
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OWEGO — Courtyard Gifts, a jewelry and eclectic gift shop, recently moved to Owego after more than four decades in downtown Binghamton.
It’s a move the shop’s current owner expects to significantly boost revenue because Owego’s retail environment is a better fit for the shop.
Bruce Potter has owned Courtyard Gifts for the past 21 years of its 43-year existence — selling fine jewelry and unique gift items at 163 Washington St. in downtown Binghamton. Facing a steady decline of more than half of the store’s revenue over the past two decades, Potter shuttered the Binghamton store in July and opened in Owego on Aug. 1.
Courtyard Gifts formally opened at 165 Main St. in Owego on Sept. 20 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce.
“Binghamton was the right place for many, many years and when we first started we were doing really — and I mean really — well,” Potter tells CNYBJ. “But then business continued to drop off.”
Potter attributes Courtyard Gifts’ decline in part to a shifting local economy that catered toward students and the rise of online shopping, which has been chipping away at small mom-and-pop shops for years. In Owego, Potter hopes he won’t be beholden to a transient student population with little disposable income.
“Students are attracted to the restaurants, but they will not attract business for the stores,” Potter says, noting that most students either shop online or in their hometowns during breaks in the school year.
Potter decided to move into a bigger space in neighboring Tioga County, which he says has a better retail setting and feels “like a Norman Rockwell painting.” Potter expects to double his sales in the Owego location.
The new store is 1,200 square feet, twice the 600 square feet he had in Binghamton. Potter hired Binghamton–based contractor, Doug Hoffman, for renovations, which he funded with company cash.
Courtyard Gifts sells high-end jewelry and hand-crafted gift items that are either unusual or nostalgic. The merchandise includes hats, lamps, chairs, costumes, necklaces and even lifelike manikins.
Potter says he does not yet know how many employees he will hire in Owego. At one point, Courtyard Gifts had four full-time employees. But by the time the store closed in Binghamton, Potter did not have the revenue to support a single employee. He ran the store by himself while his wife volunteered whenever she could, he says.
Before purchasing Courtyard Gifts in 1996, Potter was a buyer for Endicott Johnson, a famous shoe manufacturer that had been based in Broome County. Courtyard Gifts’ previous owner, Peter Altman, had owned the business since its start in 1973 in downtown Binghamton.
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OWEGO — Courtyard Gifts, a jewelry and eclectic gift shop, recently moved to Owego after more than four decades in downtown Binghamton. It’s a move the shop’s current owner expects to significantly boost revenue because Owego’s retail environment is a better fit for the shop. Bruce Potter has owned Courtyard Gifts for the past 21 […]
OWEGO — Courtyard Gifts, a jewelry and eclectic gift shop, recently moved to Owego after more than four decades in downtown Binghamton.
It’s a move the shop’s current owner expects to significantly boost revenue because Owego’s retail environment is a better fit for the shop.
Bruce Potter has owned Courtyard Gifts for the past 21 years of its 43-year existence — selling fine jewelry and unique gift items at 163 Washington St. in downtown Binghamton. Facing a steady decline of more than half of the store’s revenue over the past two decades, Potter shuttered the Binghamton store in July and opened in Owego on Aug. 1.
Courtyard Gifts formally opened at 165 Main St. in Owego on Sept. 20 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce.
“Binghamton was the right place for many, many years and when we first started we were doing really — and I mean really — well,” Potter tells CNYBJ. “But then business continued to drop off.”
Potter attributes Courtyard Gifts’ decline in part to a shifting local economy that catered toward students and the rise of online shopping, which has been chipping away at small mom-and-pop shops for years. In Owego, Potter hopes he won’t be beholden to a transient student population with little disposable income.
“Students are attracted to the restaurants, but they will not attract business for the stores,” Potter says, noting that most students either shop online or in their hometowns during breaks in the school year.
Potter decided to move into a bigger space in neighboring Tioga County, which he says has a better retail setting and feels “like a Norman Rockwell painting.” Potter expects to double his sales in the Owego location.
The new store is 1,200 square feet, twice the 600 square feet he had in Binghamton. Potter hired Binghamton–based contractor, Doug Hoffman, for renovations, which he funded with company cash.
Courtyard Gifts sells high-end jewelry and hand-crafted gift items that are either unusual or nostalgic. The merchandise includes hats, lamps, chairs, costumes, necklaces and even lifelike manikins.
Potter says he does not yet know how many employees he will hire in Owego. At one point, Courtyard Gifts had four full-time employees. But by the time the store closed in Binghamton, Potter did not have the revenue to support a single employee. He ran the store by himself while his wife volunteered whenever she could, he says.
Before purchasing Courtyard Gifts in 1996, Potter was a buyer for Endicott Johnson, a famous shoe manufacturer that had been based in Broome County. Courtyard Gifts’ previous owner, Peter Altman, had owned the business since its start in 1973 in downtown Binghamton.
