|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Thriving Ink, one of Pleasanton’s newer downtown retail stores, is closing with owner Brenda Dronkers taking her business online.
The store was opened in April, 2009 on East Angela Street and last November moved to 520 Main St. Earlier this year, Dronkers refurbished and re-opened a backyard patio that had been the scene of crowded special events by a previous men’s store owner.
In an email sent Friday to the Pleasanton Weekly, Dronkers said:
“To our amazing friends..we have made the decision to close the Pleasanton retail shop of Thriving Ink & Co.
“We are currently looking for someone who is interested in carrying on the TI shop in downtown Pleasanton. The Backyard is all set up and someone will LOVE running this unique venue!
If you are interested in taking over the lease at TI & Co, please let me know. We have got a great deal for the right person. Contact me, and we can discuss privately.
“Meanwhile, you can still order tees at our website at http://thrivingink.com. We will be adding our favorites brands to the site, so you can still get The Girls in Boots, Loveless, Oaklandish, Lush, Audrey 3+1 and more! The site will soon host some of the Bay Area’s best brands. Matt will be managing the Brand and new shirts are still on the way to the new site very soon, as well as new Girls In Boot fashion tees.
“Our staff, Cody Williams, Dan Luxford and Lauren Johnson and our friends Michaela Bammer, Jeff Dronkers, Angelica Pitsos, Perri Gutteridge, and Kristen Neilson have made the shop the amazing place that it is, and we will be eternally grateful to them for that! ANY business would be Blessed to have them as part of their team.
“Meanwhile, thanks so much for all of your love, support and friendship. It will be a memory we will cherish forever. We will see you around at festivals, street parties, events….wherever Thriving Ink has a place!
Peace and love.
Ron, Brenda, Jenelle, Matt and Jake”
Dronkers gave no reason for closing the downtown retail store, which will remain open through the end of the month.
That building is an eyesore. How the downtown association could let this scructure decay to such a state is beyond belief. Has this place ever been painted? The storefront is full of dry rot.
Many building owners refuse to do even routine maintenence downtown.
Why bother. They figure there are enough bored rich housewives with wacky business ideas to keep these decrepid buildings leased. Unfortunately, the residents are subjected to this spectacle every time we walk down Main Street.
I am sorry– There are many errors in this article, as I haven’t spoken to anyone as of yet from The Pleasanton Weekly. We are looking for someone interested in carrying on the Thriving Ink & Co shop and The Backyard venue, but the Brand lives on with the online store which we have had since 2007. The shop originally opened in April of 2009 on W. Angela. We moved to 520 Main Street in November and had our first event in The Backyard in February. We are not closing the shop this weekend but at the end of the month. I am very sorry for the confusion. I had no idea this was being written. I will get it cleared up, with all of the accurate facts soon.
Thank you.
Brenda Dronkers
brendad@thrivingink.com
http://www.thrivingink.com
Brenda,
How are the facts not accurate when they quoted a letter you sent to them?
Bummer. One of the few shops downtown that was actually interesting and fun.
I’m sure their vacancy will pave the way for a glorious new nail salon or bank.
Bummer…another great shop downtown that will be gone soon. The teens and young adults around town loved that shop..we will have to go online now..
The quotes from the letter are obviously correct. I think the biggest error is in the first line of the article; TI has had an online store for 3 years now. Brenda can’t take her business online if it was already online to begin with…
Is Brenda in any way related to Roy?
That building appears to be the kiss of death for any downtown business. It seems appealing and workable, but …
Hi friends. Please read my blog for more information on the NEW shop we are opening, called born again…
http://dronkers.wordpress.com
Peace. Brenda
So Brenda, is the PW Forum only here to allow you to place a free ad for your new business? Not fair to the merchants who pay for their ads. And does downtown really need ANOTHER consignment store? How about we go back to the good old days of nothing but dive bars?
This thread is here for promoting a business without buying advertising from the paper, which helps keeps it going. I also reported her post higher up due to the link to her site.
I’ve seen the building though and it should either be totally rehabbed or have a date with a wrecking ball.
Unfortunately a number of downtown buildings are in poor shape and a number of businesses have closed. Something needs to be done to revitalize downtown or I’m afraid it will reach the tipping point and business will drop off drastically. I considered buying in Livermore (where places where bigger and cheaper) but decided to stay in Pleasanton. Now looking at how Livermore got funding and has really cleaned up their downtown I’m wondering if I made the right choice. I hope that Pleasanton residents can push the city to get funds to help fix up downtown.