Storyville, a silk-screen T-shirt company that originated in Baton Rouge, has closed the doors to its West Chimes Street location.
The clothing store shut down its original location just off campus this summer, and the doors haven’t re-opened, according to Josh Harvey, owner of Storyville.
“We just aren’t seeing the same amount of traffic through the area as we used to,” Harvey said.
He said it is no longer economically viable to keep the store open. He said the West Chimes Street property’s lease will expire at the end of the year.
“We are trying to find a way to make it feasible to keep the store open and remain in the community,” Harvey said.
Storyville opened a pop-up shop Sept. 9 and 10 in an attempt to increase customer traffic. The shop consisted of one room in the store stocked with a limited supply of T-shirts as if it were a kiosk.
“We wanted to generate buzz and do something experimental,” Harvey said.
Storyville has grown from its original Baton Rouge location to five other locations: The Mall of Louisiana, Metairie, Austin and two locations in New Orleans.
According to Storyville’s website, the clothing store’s motto is “wear your story” as most of their clothing has a community theme and patrons can create their own T-shirt designs.
“I love Storyville because they create a unique community bond with artists and their designs,” said Jessica Holden, social work graduate student.
Bengals and Bandits, a similar clothing store on West Chimes Street, has no plans of shutting down, said store owner Eric Hedrick.
“Numbers are up from last fall,” Hedrick said.
Carey Gelpi, oceanography and coastal sciences graduate student, said he hopes Storyville holds on to its West Chimes street location.
“I would rather have a local company there than have the property swallowed up by some corporate monster,” Gelpi said.
Regardless of the store’s fate, Harvey said he will always be a part of the local community.
“I have history there. I met my wife in that store,” Harvey said. “The area is where our heart is, and we will find a way to remain in the LSU community despite whether we can stay in the West Chimes Street