After 56 years, Sudbury's Jan Browning Boutique closes up shop

After 56 years in business, Sudbury's Jan Browning is closing up shop.

The Jan Browning Boutique, a clothing and accessories store, has moved around over the years, but was at its Durham Street location, in downtown Sudbury, for the last 15 years.

Browning said she decided to retire a year ago, but it took a bit of time to come to terms with the decision.

"And we have until next Thursday to move out," she said.

Browning said she was inspired by boutiques that started to open in London, England, when she opened her first store in Sudbury in the 1960s.

"I bought many samples from Paris and of course from London, which is where I'm from, which is what gave me the idea to open a store in the first place," she said.

Her first store was at the corner of Larch and Lisgar streets in downtown Sudbury. 

"We had an artist actually in the back section," she said.

At that time, a lot of her inventory was made in Canada. 

"I've always had dresses and as much fashion as I could find from all over Canada," Browning said.

Browning said that although the last two years were difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she loved working in the downtown core.

"I love the downtown. I loved Durham Street," she said. 

"It's got a little bit choppy now because of course we were closed here for two years and that made things less open and friendly, but it's coming back. And when I opened in the sixties, we also had a bad patch and that was not good too."

In her retirement, Browning said she plans to spend more time painting, and tending to the garden.

Downtown bouncing back

Kyle Marcus, managing director of the Sudbury Downtown Business Improvement Area Association, said a dozen businesses have opened in Sudbury's downtown over the last six months.

"The regional business centre has taken more business plans than ever before and I think, you know, what we're seeing after COVID is that if people didn't enjoy their work or their lifestyle before, they're saying, you know, let me take a crack at entrepreneurship," he said.

But Marcus said it will be difficult to replace a longtime tenant like Browning.

"At some point, they've sat on our board for the BIA and they've been huge community people. They've been involved in just about every level of everything down here," he said.