Greetings to re-open in mid-July

One of Kirkwood's favorite gift shops will re-open its doors to browsing customers soon. After a fire last February destroyed the store and its merchandise, owners of Greetings, a popular novelty and greeting card store, are looking forward to opening for business before fall semester begins.\n"We expect it to re-open in mid-July to early August," said Matt Sater, co-owner and general manager of the store.\nSater said the contractors are preparing the store for re-opening. Once it's finished, Sater and his co-workers will arrange the merchandise displays. Once the store is ready for customers, it will open immediately.\nTimothy Mayer, Bloomington councilman-at-large, appreciates locally-owned businesses and said the mayor's office and City Council try to keep them in Bloomington.\n"Bloomington, like many vibrant communities, is a target for national chains-and we have had our share of them locate here," Mayer said. "City Government puts a lot of effort and resources forward to encourage and maintain local business."\nThese efforts include parking regulations, tax abatements, and Bloomington Parks and Recreation musical events. Although the city has limited funding to support local businesses like Greetings and neighboring women's clothing store Cha-Cha, Mayer said the council tries their best to create a "sense of Bloomington."\n"We use every dollar and every program at our disposal to support local business," he said. "As a community we choose to invest in our downtown to encourage and maintain local business."\nIn addition to destroying the interior of Greetings, last February's fire caused neighboring women's clothing store Cha-Cha to close, and forced a man out of his upstairs apartment. Bloomington fire investigator Steve Cottingham told the IDS an overheated light fixture ballast most likely caused the blaze.\nDespite the significant damage, Greetings has withstood the financial devastation of reconstruction and a lack of incoming revenue.\n"We had a very good insurance policy," Sater said, "So we're doing alright (financially)."\nAnother Greetings store at 907 S. College Mall Rd. has remained open throughout the Kirkwood store's reconstruction. Since the Kirkwood store closed, Sater said the College Mall Road store has seen an increase in sales. \nBut the sales increase stops with Greetings. Kirkwood's nearby women's clothing store Pitaya hasn't experienced the same fortune after Greetings and Cha-Cha's closings. \n"We haven't really seen any change (in business)," Pitaya employee Lindsay Rudolph said. \nJunior Jamie Hall expected neighboring stores like Pitaya to lose business after Greetings and Cha-Cha's closings. \n"From what I have perceived, Greetings and Cha-Cha were high-traffic shopping places, so I'm sure (their closings) have negatively affected the other stores," she said. "I think (the re-openings) will benefit the other stores by bringing more customers to the area."\nWhether nearby businesses are helped or hurt by Greetings and Cha-Cha's closings, Rudolph and fellow employee Kristen Hartwell said they "hope it re-opens soon." \nHall is also anticipating Greetings' re-opening.\n"I enjoy the Kirkwood store better than the other one," Hall said. "I just find it more convenient to shop at because of the location. I stop in whenever I'm shopping at the other stores."\nHall said Greetings is her favorite place to buy gifts for her friends and family. The wide selection allows her to shop for everything from television's "The Simpson's" paraphernalia to framed painting prints and candles. Following the store's closing, Hall had to look elsewhere for gifts.\n"Since the closing, I've had to go to the mall, which I don't enjoy because Greetings has more original gifts," she said. "So my gifts have been a bit lame lately"