Pockets' fate sewn shut on Plumas Street

Customers opened their pockets to one Plumas Street boutique, but a lack of area foot traffic has finally pushed the owner to close her doors.

Pockets 'A Hip Kids Boutique' will close by Dec. 31. Sales began last week to clear out merchandise and fixtures and will continue until everything is gone, said owner Erin Bates.

The economy and lack of other destination stores in the area contributed to the store's demise, Bates said. The boutique opened in July 2007, when Plumas Street was closed for construction and continued to struggle even after the revitalization was complete.

"It just seems like since the construction and everything, we really could not catch up," she said.

Cowprint onesies and pink gingham dresses still fill the shelves, along with tiny shoes and colorful tutus. Wash rags, rubber ducks and a bassinet are among other items the specialty boutique sells, and are now discounted for liquidation.

Pockets just could not get the volume of customers it needed, Bates said.

Many customers understood Pockets was a specialty store and did not mind paying a higher price, she said. Bates also tried to attract other customers by bringing in lower-priced items, but that did not work either.

"Unless someone was giving out free money, I don't know what else we could have done," she said.

Bates and her husband, both lifelong residents, decided to open Pockets to give Yuba City a shop the area was lacking. They thought the boutique would do well after the revitalization because other high-end businesses would be attracted to the area, she said.

But those businesses never came, and even though Pockets' opening was met with enthusiasm, she continually heard complaints there were no complementary stores nearby, Bates said.

A person could not spend the day shopping on Plumas Street, but they can drive to Roseville and buy things for their children, find dad a new suit and get mom a new outfit, Bates said.

"It's like a vicious cycle," said Kristen Cole, Pockets' clientele specialist. "Not enough people to shop here to support the businesses, otherwise we'd bring in more variety and people would shop local."

Yuba City Economic Development Manager Darin Gale, who also has four young children of his own, said Pockets' closure is disappointing and he hopes similar businesses take root on Plumas or elsewhere in the city when the economy rebounds.

"It was a shop you would see in any big city and any up-and-coming downtown," he said.

Yuba City resident Ana Correa is sad to see Pockets go. Even though her sons Isaac, 11, and Enrique, 8, have outgrown the little boys clothes sold there, she still stops by four or five times a year looking for gifts for her nieces or other friends' children.

"I think there's enough people to support it, but it's the convenience factor," she said. "There's not too much on Plumas unless you want to go to City Cafe for dinner."

When Correa goes shopping, she tries to hit up stores where she can get everything she needs at once, and the downtown does not offer that, she said.

Pockets is the latest of a string of Plumas Street business closures, including Runway Rags, the Underground and Salute restaurant.

Browsing among Pockets' stuffed monkeys and polka-dot piggy banks last week, Correa said she fell in love with the boutique because it reminded her of a store in Hollister where she loved to buy clothes for her daughter, Melissa, who is 17 now.

"I loved the froofy dresses and stuff I can't find anywhere else," she said.

People will continue to shop out of town until something changes, she said.

"My time is precious, so I do go to Sacramento because I know I'll find what I need," Correa said.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ashley Gebb at 749-4724 or agebb@appealdemocrat.com.