NORFOLK, Va. — Another local shop in Norfolk's Neon District is set to close its doors for good.
A post to the Cardinal Skate Shop social media pages says April 25 will be its last day. Owner Jason Hawkes confirmed the closure in an interview with News 3.
“I have no choice. I’m behind three months on rent," he said. ”This is my dream and I don’t get to see it finished the way I wanted it to.”
Hawkes took over the business in 2009 and signed a lease to move it from Virginia Beach to Norfolk in 2016. It boasts a shop full of skateboarding products, a skateboarding library with old magazines, books and other memorabilia, as well as an indoor skate park.
“The Neon District sold me as ‘the Neon is the next big thing,'" he recalled.
Neon stands for New Energy Of Norfolk and has been billed as Norfolk's first neighborhood dedicated to arts and culture. But Hawkes says that promise never materialized for his business.
He says the space he leased on Granby Street wasn't ready — that his landlord blamed permitting issues — and he wasn't able to move in for two years, which cost him business and sales accounts.
There was also the issue of violence in the community.
“I’ve had people shot right out [front]. My windows have been blown out six times," he said.
Then, there were challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now, orange barrels line Granby Street.
“They come in, they start working, they close down the street. Really restrict traffic," Hawkes told News 3 of the constant construction of the Neon Streetscape Project.
The project seeks to make Granby and other roads through Neon more pedestrian-friendly, while better connecting the neighborhood with Downtown Norfolk across Brambleton Avenue.
But various snags with construction has delayed the end date of the project from 2027 to 2028, according to a recent update from the city of Norfolk.
Granby has been torn up in the meantime and — though numerous signs try to direct people to park and shop — the street isn't particularly welcoming. Other businesses have closed their doors, citing various reasons, but Hawkes says he believes construction is keeping customers away.
Tricia Hudson, Executive Director for the D'Art Center one block over, says other businesses are being hurt by the construction.
“It’s definitely interrupting the businesses, their operation in the Neon District," she told News 3 in March.
The 2027 city budget is proposing $60,000 for the D'Art Center to create programming to bring foot traffic back to Neon. One event is a market scheduled for May.
"I think all of the businesses are welcoming this programming," she said.
But it will be too late for Hawkes, who says he's hoping people will buy the rest of his merchandise in the weeks leading up to his closure to help him catch up on rent. He says he's also planning a goodbye party for April 25.
“Thank you, everybody. Thank you for all these years," he said.
News 3 reached out to the city of Norfolk regarding the closure and challenges for other businesses and received this response:
"For decades, Granby Street has served as a hub of activity in Downtown Norfolk with the NEON District becoming an iconic and vibrant center of creativity. The NEON District Streetscape Project provides critical infrastructure improvements that will benefit businesses and residents for decades to come. We remain committed to working closely with stakeholders, residents and businesses to encourage continued investment and to support growth and development. The (project) contractor has addressed a utility conflict at the corner of Granby and Olney and is wrapping up infrastructure improvements on the east side of Granby Street between Olney and Brambleton. They should have this completed by the end of April, at which point they will be paving the east side of Granby. Northbound traffic (towards Virginia Beach Boulevard) will be shifted onto the newly paved roadway and crews will begin to work on the west side of Granby Street starting at Olney working south towards Brambleton.
The Department of Economic Development administered a business interruption grant program for businesses who have been impacted by construction in the 700 block. Staff continues to work directly with these businesses."
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