Biped hanging up its shoes: St. John's store set to close its doors

Water Street running store Biped Sports is the latest business in downtown St. John's to announce it will be closing up shop.

• Healy's Deli third Water Street business to announce closure this week

Biped owner Aaron Goulding confirmed to CBC News that the store would be closing.

Gouldingdeclined to do an interview, saying only that with difficulty paying his bills he has no choice but to close the store. He didn't say when the shop would close.

Biped follows nearby Healy's Deli, as well as downtown mainstays Ballistic and Templeton's,in announcing an impending closure.

• Ballistic latest business to close in downtown St. John's
• 'Poor sales island-wide' to blame for closure, says Templeton's owner

The owner of Healy's Deli cited the difficulty of staying open in a tough economic climate, while the owner of Templeton'sblamed poor sales across the province for the paint and hardware supplier.

Ballistic's owner said business has been quiet for the last couple of years, and he's looking for a change.

Despite the challenges faced by downtown business owners, Travel Bug owner Peg Normandoesn't feel downtown is in a particularly rough patch.

Business owners resilient

"Most people are holding their own or are having good years," she said.

Norman said it's always disappointing to shut down shops, especially ones with such longevity, but it's also the "nature of the beast" in business.

We have a provincial government that's just spouting doom and gloom. That's hardly the way to inspire people to stick to it and invest.- Peg Norman

She addedthat downtown St. John's faces particular challenges other areas of the city don't.

"The density of the downtown makes it that much more challenging for parking, snow clearingbut most people who shop in the downtown find that those challenges are pretty easily surmounted," she told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.

"That's why I'm still in business and the vastmajority of businesses in the downtown are still in business."

'Lack of leadership' from government

That's not to say things couldn't be better, she said; those businesses that are surviving or even prospering are doing so despite what Norman called a "lack of leadership" at the municipal and provincial levels.

We're open for business despite all the challenges.- Peg Norman

"We have a provincial government that's just spouting doom and gloom. That's hardly the way the way to inspire people to stick to it and invest," she said.

"Our municipal leaders are more often than not oblivious to how difficult it can be to run a business in the downtown."

Despite that, downtown business ownersare resilient, she said.

"We're offering products and services that you're not going to find anywhere else," she said.

"You will have meals and great restaurants that you're not going to find anywhere else. We're open. We're open for business despite all the challenges."