01 Sep Masins to close its Pioneer Square furniture store after 6 decades

From Crosscut:

Masins, a fine furniture store in Pioneer Square since 1946, has put its building up for lease and plans to close its store, says President Bob Masin.

Masin gave three reasons for pulling out of Pioneer Square, where the store occupies four stories at 220 Second Ave. S., one block east of Occidental Park. “Parking is very difficult,” he said, which is an important factor for a store drawing from a wide region. A second factor is the stadiums, which can flood the area with people seeking parking places, even more so with the huge crowds for the Sounders FC. “Pioneer Square is great for dot-coms and weekday businesses,” he said, “but the problems come on after hours and weekends,” when his store does much of its business and must compete with crowds or with a feeling of emptiness. The third factor is “safety issues,” on which Masin, as a strong supporter of Pioneer Square, did not want to elaborate.