Business & Tech

Shabby Abbie's Closing Down After Flap With Landlord

A huge sale is being planned to liquidate the 'shabby chic' inventory.

Shabby Abbie’s is closing up shop after being open only 16 months.

“This was my dream,” said owner Helen Kinyon, who specializes in furniture and home décor in the “shabby chic” style. “This is my hobby. It’s therapeutic. We love taking old things and making them new.”

Kinyon would like to find another space but has no specific plan as of now. Bargain-hunters may want to take note.

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“I’m going to be having a sale this Friday and Saturday and the subsequent Fridays and Saturdays to try and just eliminate the inventory,” she said Thursday (Aug. 15). “At that point in time we will have an opportunity to go and look for something else.”

Kinyon said she will miss the “camaraderie” with customers and the numerous vendors who sell their distressed, vintage and antique items within her store. A disagreement with landlord Russell Adams Realty over the shop’s air-conditioning system has necessitated the closure, Kinyon said.

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Kinyon said the cooling system is “extremely old and needs replaced” but that Adams has been “hostile” about the situation and says Shabby Abbie’s is on the hook for the A/C. 

“We can’t afford to replace the air-conditioner and we can’t stay here,” Kinyon said. “It was 95 degrees in here Monday.”

But realtor Russell Adams disagreed his company was hostile about the matter.

“I was pretty well shocked at their reaction,” he said of Shabby Abbie’s. “I have been in business here 40 years and I’ve had very little problems with anybody.”

Adams said the lease for Shabby’s commercial space states the tenant is responsible for the maintenance of heating and air-conditioning systems. Despite that, Adams said he sent over a repairman at one time even though he was not required to.

Kinyon said she doesn't have the estimated $6,500 to replace the A/C. Without such funds, Kinyon said inventory will go to the deal-hunters.

“We will offer 50 percent off or more,” she said.

Shabby Abbie’s, 6616 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., will open 11 a.m. the remaining Fridays in August and at 9 a.m. the remaining Saturdays of the month.

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