Photo: QueensPost
July 21, 2013 By Bill Parry
A popular Skillman Ave. hardware store is going out of business at the end of the month
Step by Step (50-14 Skillman Ave.) ends a 20-year run when its lease expires on July 31st. “I just can’t make the numbers work anymore,” said owner Erica Sim adding, “I’m just giving up.”
Sim said she tried to sell the business but found no interest. “Nobody wanted to buy it because of the rent,” she said.
The rent is currently more than $5,000 per month and would have risen had she renewed. Furthermore, the hardware business is not as strong as in the past.
Sim said she has no ill will toward the landlord about the rent. “I’m not mad at her because she has to make money too, that’s the new economy,” Sim said. Sim said that over the years she was able to make enough money to send three children to private schools and two to college.
Sim said she will miss Sunnyside and the residents of the Berkeley Towers and The Phipps in particular. “They’ve been great friends over the years and I’ll miss hanging out with them. Some of them cry when they hear we’re closing down.”
Sims, who lives in Flushing, said that she will retire when the store finally closes.
The store’s entire inventory, including power tools, is for sale at a 40% discount.
