Pandemic Forces Longtime Sundance Square Tenant to Close Its Doors
November 29,2020
See full NBC DFW article by Sophia Beausoleil here.
Over the last three decades, thousands of people have walked through parfumerie Marie Antoinette at 101 W. Second St. in Fort Worth and let their noses guide them into buying the best presents.
On Monday, that will no longer be the case. After 29 years, the business is closing its brick and mortar store.
"My request to terminate my lease was something that I came to terms with in my prayer time," Dr. Marie Holliday Tolliver said. "I've had ups and downs, I've felt sad."
Holliday Tolliver, who is also a dentist and runs her practice in an office space at Sundance Square, said she believes she's the square's second-longest tenant next to Haltom's Fine Jewelry, which has been around for decades.
The parfumerie sits across from the Renaissance Worthington Hotel and has been a great boutique store for tourists or downtown employees to grab a unique gift.
COVID-19 has halted foot traffic from entering the store due to the number of people working from home and cancellation of events.
"The pandemic has caused us to have such a loss of persons and businesses and conventions in the area that I did not feel that I would be able to recover within a time frame after the pandemic has become controlled to be able to sustain the business in the future," Holliday Tolliver said.
She held a virtual, and small in-person, farewell on Sunday, but it also served as the launch for her online store.
"We're going to look out of the box and think creative about retail in itself," she said.
They say when one door closes, another one opens, and in this case, it's the World Wide Web.
Regardless, Holliday Tolliver said she's grateful to the many years she's been able to operate her store.
"It's been a blessing, you know, and so, but at this particular time. You know, it was time for a change," she said.
The dentist also owns and operates Flowers to Go.
And at one point, her sister also owned a store on Sundance Square.
Location Mentioned: Marie Holliday, DMD