NORFOLK, Va. — As the saying goes, there's no place like home.
For people living in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood like Skip Stiles, that's especially true.
"Love the place. We live in walking distance of this strip of Colley Avenue," Stiles said. "So we're local this is our neighborhood."
Bridget Charlton is a newer face in the neighborhood. She said part of the charm of the area is that there are fewer chain restaurants and more mom-and-pop shops.
"You go into it and it's like stepping back in time a little bit," Charlton said.
Unfortunately, there are some businesses in Ghent that can't remain frozen in time.
Next week, Colley Pharmacy said it will close its doors as owner Steve Buchberg retires. The store will be taken over as a Rite Aid. It's the start of a new chapter for him and a bittersweet goodbye for his regulars.
"It's always sad when a family-owned business goes away but it could be that Steve wants to do something different," Stiles said.
"At the end of the day, I'd rather give my money to a small business than to one of these big corporate companies," Charltons said. "They don't need my money, to be quite frank, so it does make me sad seeing them being replaced.
Colley's Pharmacy isn't the only one, either.
"There's Red Dot, there's Yknot and then there's the seafood place up the street who have all closed recently," Stiles said.
Some Ghent businesses told News 3 the time has come for a variety of reasons, and some residents have their own theories.
"It's tough for a business here, because there's no parking, but on the other hand, there's many walk-to's," Stiles said.
The Economic Development Authority of Norfolk said Ghent was not immune to staffing shortages and the impacts of a post-COVID small business economy in addition to owners retiring.
News 3 asked the Authority what is being done to help fill the void. They said the turnover time for retail spaces is pretty short.
Restaurants, on the other hand, take longer to fill and open.
While change is on the way, those living in Ghent said it's easy to replace a business physically, but not so much in the heart of the regulars.
