NEWS

Nicole's final sale: Dover landmark closing

Kyle Stucker
kstucker@seacoastonline.com
Janet Perry, owner of Nicole's in Dover, anounced she is closing the store after more than 30 years on Central Avenue. [Deb Cram/Fosters.com]

DOVER — One of downtown's retail icons will close by the end of September, in what many community members say is the end of a warm and loving era.

Nicole's owner Janet Perry is holding an everything-must-go retirement sale as she readies to embark on her next, yet-to-be-determined chapter after 31 years behind the counter at 386 Central Ave.

"This has been very rewarding," said Perry, describing the closure as bittersweet. "I would not have traded it for anything in the world."

Perry said many small factors snowballed to the point where she realized closing Nicole's would be in her best interests. Those factors include declining sales, the difficulty of being a brick-and-mortar retail store in a market with strong digital sales, and a decline in regular shoppers, which she said the shoppers attribute to downtown's parking costs, traffic and construction projects.

"I don't want it to end, but it's time," said Perry. "It's time."

The store, known to some as Nicole's Hallmark, Nicole's Gifts and Nicole's Retail Shops, has one of the oldest retail linages in the Garrison City's downtown.

It originated in the 1920s under the name Christine's — named for the youngest daughter of owners Bill and Barbara Caron — before Nick and Lorraine Skaltsis bought it in the mid-'80s and renamed it Nicole's. Perry bought the store in 1988 with business partners Ann and Dave Goodwin, keeping the name. Perry bought out the Goodwins' stake in 2015 when they retired.

Few downtown businesses match that longevity, but Nicole's was sandwiched between two of the others. Together, Nicole's, Harvey's Bakery (87 years) and Jewelry Creations (38 years) have anchored a culturally significant shopping block for generations, customers present in Nicole's said Monday.

Perry said it's been an immense pleasure to be among the downtown's longest-standing stores, which also include Allie's Jewelers (105 years), Janetos Superette (95 years), Dover House of Pizza (40-plus years) and several other 20- and 30-year-old businesses.

"We love what we do," she said. "I think that's the point of being in business in a community. You get to know people on a different level. For me, it's the customers we've seen year after year. It's the families who came in with their children, who have now gotten married and had kids of their own."

Perry said there are many families who have made it an annual tradition to come in together to purchase holiday collectibles and Christmas ornaments, each of which have been cornerstones throughout the Perry era.

"That's irreplaceable," she said. "We call those 'little paychecks.' Maybe it's not a dollar amount, but it makes us feel we've done something right to have people come back and make us a part of their family. When it happens, we'll be like, 'I think I just got a little paycheck.'"

Mayor Karen Weston, who owns Janetos with her two brothers, understands that familial connection and the traditions that can come with it.

Weston said the closure of Nicole's will leave a "huge void" in Dover. That's because of both Perry's personality and the cultural significance of the store, in addition to the fact that, according to Weston, there have been no formal announcements about what could potentially fill the storefront. Bill Hopkins, the building's owner, couldn't be reached for comment.

"Janet is so involved with the city of Dover and the whole community," said Weston. "She's like the ever-run battery. She just keeps on going. I don't think we'll see her sitting back and being quiet for long… I think she will get done with where she is, and possibly find herself back somewhere."

Perry said she wouldn't rule out the possibility of another business venture, although she said it wouldn't be a retail store like Nicole's. She said she'll look to work for someone else in Dover for a little while before making any such plans.

She half-jokingly said she might look into creating Facebook Live videos for other downtown businesses. Perry's highly animated, humorous, off-the-cuff Facebook Live videos are one of the hallmarks of Nicole's.

Shirley Gould, a regular customer at Nicole's, told Perry she looks forward to whatever Perry does next because she's enjoyed shopping at Nicole's for many years.

"It's exciting," Gould told Perry while discussing Perry's retail retirement. "Good for you."

The exact closure date of Nicole's isn't definite. The store will run deeper and deeper sales throughout the rest of August and September until the inventory and fixtures are sold.

More information about Nicole's can be found at facebook.com/NicolesRetailsShops.