The Candy Cane Christmas Shoppe in Archbold will be closing before the end of January, ending a 19-year run.
Owners Sharon and Marv Lantz are closing all of their stores as they want to spend time doing the things they haven’t had time for.
“Business is going good,” Sharon said. “We feel it’s time to do the things we have not been able to do.”
The Lantzes plan to close Jan. 28, but Sharon said there are a couple of people they need to talk to about taking over the store.
“We have not met with them,” Sharon said. “We will close, if we don’t sell.
“We will reopen this summer for Christmas in July.”
The couple started in business in 1984 with a shop in Defiance. They have expanded since and opened the Archbold store 19 years ago. They acquired the old school in Elmira when the Archbold school district built its new school.
At time the couple would put its Christmas items away for the year following the holiday, but when the school became available, they decided to have a year-round business. The couple acquired the building in January 1998 and worked on transforming the classrooms into Christmas rooms until the first of September.
But after almost 20 years of working 12 ½ hour days six days a week, the pair felt limited.
“We want to do other things,” Sharon said.
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