From 1974 until last year, Arbor Vacuum was a mainstay at 1229 Packard. Dianna Poley says her father-in-law, who started the business, had a “gentleman’s agreement” with landlord Harry Hawkins and faithfully paid rent for forty-six years, but the two never had a lease.
Covid restrictions caused the store to temporarily shut down in March 2020, prompting two longtime employees to leave.
Hawkins died in May 2020, Poley says, and in November, Poley emails, his heirs gave them thirty days’ notice to vacate the premises.
“It was a sad moment,” Poley writes. “It was a busy time for our remaining stores and our on-line business. Plus the weather wasn’t exactly pleasant.”
Poley is now focusing on Arbor Vacuum’s two remaining stores, one at Packard and Carpenter and the other in Brighton.
Meanwhile, the storefront will soon have a new–and also familiar–tenant. Argus Farm Stop plans to take on the space in addition to its current store at 1200 Packard, says owner Kathy Sample.
Tentative plans call for a shopping and gathering space, housing fresh produce, coffee, pastry, beer taps, and seating. Sample says she’s talking to Jordan Balduf, owner of Side Biscuit next door, about sharing the dining area.
