{"id":782249,"date":"2026-07-24T17:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T17:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/782249\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T17:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T17:44:08","slug":"closure-of-ayers-hardware-is-latest-sign-of-strain-among-arlingtons-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/782249\/","title":{"rendered":"Closure of Ayers Hardware is latest sign of strain among Arlington\u2019s small businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent closure<\/a> of Ayers Variety & Hardware\u00a0was a stark reminder that nothing is forever, even businesses that have built generational relationships with customers.<\/p>\n

The shuttering of the store that served Westover for nearly 80 years<\/a> is also an indication of how challenging current times are for many of Arlington\u2019s\u00a0other small businesses, community leaders say.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Ayers\u2019 demise demonstrates, it is hard for any of Arlington\u2019s legacy small businesses to survive in an economic environment of rising costs, higher rents and competition from online and big-box stores,\u201d Andrew Schneider, executive director of the Columbia Pike Partnership<\/a>, told ARLnow.<\/p>\n

The owners of Ayers previously said they decided some time ago<\/a> to sell the business before their lease runs out at the end of July. But no offers materialized, said Kristy Peterkin, who operated the 5853 Washington Blvd business with her brother, Keith Kaplan.<\/p>\n

Though the retail venue wasn\u2019t located on the Pike, Schneider has fond memories dating to his childhood:<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Westover \u2014 I remember buying penny candy at Ayers, visiting with Santa as a child, stopping there almost every afternoon after school at Swanson and, as an adult, knowing that Ayers would always have that one thing I needed for that one project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Its closure<\/a> represents \u201ca loss for the entire community,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n

Arlington has more than 10,000 small businesses, said Anna Nissinen, who recently was tapped<\/a> to serve as the county\u2019s chief economic development officer and director of Arlington Economic Development<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time a long-standing local business closes, our community feels that loss,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is also a reminder that economic resilience is not something we can take for granted. It is something we build together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we\u2019re proud that Arlington was recently recognized as one of America\u2019s top communities for small businesses, we also recognize that many business owners are navigating a period of significant change,\u201d Nissinen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur responsibility is to stand alongside our entrepreneurs through those challenges,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ayers Variety & Hardware at 5853 Washington Blvd prior to closing (staff photo by Ryan Cole)<\/p>\n

Kate Bates, president\/CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce<\/a>, said the community has seen a number of retail businesses and restaurants shut their doors in recent months.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more than the typical cyclical nature of small-business operations, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany small businesses are facing meaningful headwinds,\u201d Bates said, adding:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear from members about the challenges of rising costs alongside softening consumer spending, which are especially difficult for businesses such as restaurants and retailers that often operate on thin profit margins. Unfortunately, even longstanding businesses are not immune.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nissinen said the county government and others offer numerous ways for aspiring and existing business owners to find support:<\/p>\n

\u201cArlington\u2019s entrepreneurial support network, including Arlington Economic Development\u2019s BizLaunch team, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, SCORE, George Mason University and many other partners, is committed to helping.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is not simply to help businesses navigate uncertainty, but to ensure Arlington remains a place where entrepreneurs have the confidence to start, grow, adapt and build the next generation of great local businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat entrepreneurial spirit has long been one of Arlington\u2019s greatest strengths, and it will continue to be an essential part of our community\u2019s resilience and prosperity,\u201d Nissinen said.<\/p>\n

County Board member Julius \u201cJD\u201d Spain, Sr., who serves as the Board\u2019s liaison to the Economic Development Commission, called the closing of Ayers Hardware \u201cdifficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery small business is part of the fabric of our community,\u201d Spain said.<\/p>\n

But he stopped short of seeing an alarming trend in the closure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile every business has its own story, one closure does not define Arlington\u2019s economy,\u201d Spain said. \u201cI am confident that \u2014 working alongside Arlington Economic Development, our business districts and community partners \u2014 we will continue to invest in the entrepreneurs who make our neighborhoods vibrant and our economy resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bates said the county government needed to expand efforts to \u201cremove unnecessary costs and regulatory burdens so businesses of all sizes can grow and thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting government out of the way was a key facet of the Chamber\u2019s recent County Board candidate forum<\/a>, and has been a topic of discussion at other candidate debates this year.<\/p>\n

Julie Farnam, a Democratic candidate seeking to unseat County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti in the Aug. 4 primary, said the county government has an uneven track record of making sure storefront properties and other mom-and-pop businesses are supported.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do good with big businesses, but they\u2019re not going into those spaces,\u201d Farnam said at a recent forum sponsored by the Douglas Park Civic Association.<\/p>\n

Different areas of the county have been impacted unevenly by the economic challenges accompanying the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to the federal workforce. As a result, economic development efforts targeting small businesses may need to simultaneously focus on hyperlocal areas and the county as a whole.<\/p>\n

Said Schneider:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must heed the cautionary tale of Ayers, and the dozens of small businesses that have closed on the Pike over the past five years, and acknowledge that without targeted investment and policies that support our small businesses, we risk continuing to lose what we value most: the diversity, character and small businesses that significantly contribute to what makes Arlington such a special and unique community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, as a community \u2014 residents, consumers, elected officials, county staff and policymakers, and businesses \u2014 we must determine how to align our values with our investments,\u201d Schneider added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The recent closure of Ayers Variety & Hardware\u00a0was a stark reminder that nothing is forever, even businesses that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":782250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[28,333020,63158,158,3,12191,333021],"class_list":["post-782249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-business","tag-columbia-pike-partnership","tag-economic-development","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-news","tag-small-business","tag-westover"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}