By James Windell
Layla Byrd opened Haven, an upscale clothing store in May, 2024. However, her shop, located at 550 Phoenix wasn’t quite the right location for her business.
“When my mom sold the building I was in,” Byrd said recently, “I started looking for another space. I wanted to be more accessible and more in the heart of the downtown area.”
When a building came up for rent at 505 Phoenix, across from Clementine’s restaurant, she called the owner immediately. “We talked and I signed an agreement that same day,” says Byrd.
Now moved in and displaying her trendy and hand-curated women’s clothing, Byrd is happy with her new location. But the space she left will not stay empty for long, according to Suzanne Brock, Director of the Downtown Development Authority.
“Business downtown is very strong,” says Brock. “For the most part, when a building becomes vacant, someone comes in right away. If people are looking for a spot on either Phoenix Street or Center Street, they have to move very quickly to secure a spot.”
Brock says that the storefront that Byrd vacated will soon have a new business. “The owner of that building is going to be opening up a Haven Market, where she’s going to sell fresh vegetables and market,” Brock explains. “She’s in the beginning stages of putting all that together. So, I think that’s going to happen soon, perhaps just after the holiday season.”
In other developments, as was announced a few months ago, the Golden Brown Bakery, at 421 Phoenix is closing. Combining a bakery and restaurant, Golden Brown Bakery has been in South Haven for more than 70 years.
“That will be an open spot and I don’t think that we have anyone who is making any moves to put a new business in there,” says Brock. “Some people would like to see a bakery open up in there, but I don’t know if anyone is interested in opening up a bakery in that building.”
Other recent vacancies include 335 Center Street at the corner of Center and Huron Streets. A former candle shop has closed and the pop-up Christmas store next to it will likely close after the Christmas holiday season. “Those two spaces will be available for businesses in the near future,” says Brock.
Layla Byrd recognizes that she can only rent space in her current location until September, 2025 when the building and Johnny’s Lakeshore Jewelers next door at 501 Phoenix are slated to be closed and demolished to make way for a new building at the corner of Phoenix and Center Streets. Randy Locker of Locker & Locker Properties plans to construct a new five-story building. It is expected that Johnny’s Lakeshore Jewelers will be a tenant in that new building. In the meantime, while construction is going on, both Johnny’s Lakeshore Jewelers and Haven will have to relocate.
“I know I will have to move,” says Layla Byrd, “but my mom and I will look for a new building to buy. I will still be in South Haven, I just don’t know where yet.”
