Two stores in Uptown Westerville are closing, and their location may have been a factor.

Kriss Rogers, head of the Uptown Westerville Merchant Assocation and owner of Outside Envy, said most of the traffic goes through the main line of Uptown on State Street, so shops away from that central area have a harder time bringing in the same customers.

That’s So Sweet candy store sealed its doors Tuesday, Jan. 31. Book Harbor, a bookshop with shelves of books both inside and on the porch, is scheduled to close indefinitely. Both stores are located on College Avenue, a sidestreet.

Jennifer Pry, owner of That’s So Sweet, said she closed her shop for many reasons. “Mainly just a personal decision. I liked being in Uptown, but it is hard to get customers to come down those side streets. If you’re not on the main streets, it’s a struggle,” Pry said.

The store has been in business for three years, but has been in Uptown for the past two. Pry thought the store, which is located near Westerville Public Library and Hanby Arts Magnet School, would appeal to a younger audience.

Pry said that she hoped the candy shop would provide a place for kids to ride their bikes or walk to after school.

Although Pry is closing her store, she intends on using the Internet to continue selling her products, just like Blue Turtle Tea & Spice Co., another State Street store that recently went online-only. Pry aims to continue to be part of the Westerville community, too, by being present at Fourth Friday Festivals starting in April.

If she is able to find a spot on Main Street and rent is affordable, Pry said she would consider reopening.

Like That’s So Sweet, Book Harbor also closed partly due to its location. Owner Frederica Spurgeon said that with the minimal walk-in traffic, her worsening rheumatoid arthritis, a shoulder replacement and the death of her husband in 2006, it was time to get out.

Book Harbor owner Fredrica Spurgeon always wanted to open a store. Upon seeing that the building that would become her store was for rent, she was sold.

“I came over here and looked at it with the great big porch. Yummy, yummy, yummy,” Spurgeon said.

With the minimal walk-in traffic, her worsening rheumatoid arthritis, a shoulder replacement and the death of her husband in 2006, 68-year-old Spurgeon thought it was time to get out.

“I was okay, the store kept me going. It saved my sanity,” she said, commenting on her husband’s death. “I probably would’ve stuck it out. I figured I’d be here till I died ’cause I don’t have anything to fall back on except the building itself.”

After starting her business in 1988, Spurgeon is now packing everything away and selling the property.

Serendipity, a cafe on East College Avenue, also closed last November after three years of business.

Despite the fact that stores are closing, Rogers said, “Uptown is alive and well.”

Rogers explained that people are always looking for space to rent in Uptown, but a business owner must first bring the building up to code. Most business owners try to find grants to help them pay for the updates and remodeling.

“Wheels of commerce don’t turn on a dime,” she said.

Rogers also said that location is a big factor in whether or not a business can be successful.

She said there has been an upswing in traffic since last fall for reasons including changes in the economy, the reopening of the Main Street bridge and the lack of winter weather we have been experiencing this season. She added that this was the best holiday in five years.

Senior early childhood education major Emily Killeya, who works at Heavenly Cup, said that weather is an important factor in determining how many customers the shop receives.

“Westerville hates winter,” Killeya said. “If it rains at all, no one comes.”