Tough times too much for two businesses

Two area business have closed in the past few weeks, possible victims of a poor economy.

Ottawa lost Dragon Way Video, 424 S. Main St., while Wellsville residents said goodbye to Simple Simon’s Pizza, 430 Main St.

Dragon’s Way Video is believed to be the second Ottawa business to close in the past six months, Tom Weigand, Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer, said. Earlier this year, Western & Lodge Connection, 111 S. Main St., closed.

“But I don’t believe that closing was due specifically to the economy,” Weigand said of the western collections shop.

Simple Simon’s Pizza, Wellsville

The business was a fixture in downtown Wellsville and its closing reduced the dining choices for Wellsville residents from four restaurants to three.

Wellsville Chamber of Commerce President Kristin Adams said she believes the pizza shop is the first Wellsville business to close because of the economy. The lack of a full-scale grocery store hurts small businesses in the community of 1,700, she said.

“The Wellsville Market is fine to get something quick or to get canned items, but if you want fresh produce, a meat counter and a bakery, you have to go outside of Wellsville,” she said. “It causes problems for all our small businesses because when people go out of town for groceries, they get other things out of town while they’re at it, including meals.”

The restaurant’s owner, Glen Leimkuehler, purchased Simple Simon’s two years ago.

Dragon’s Way Video, Ottawa

Dragon’s Way Video, 424 S, Main St., opened in October after Collins overheard some of his martial arts students complain about the lack of a video rental outlet besides Redbox.

“But after almost a year, I’ve done nothing but break even,” Collins said. “The guys I rent from called, and said I had to pay my back rent by July 15 or vacate by July 30. It wasn’t a hard decision. I can’t pay the rent.”

Collins said he accepts full responsibility for the business’s failure, but said he was disappointed that his business was overlooked in a recent controversy surrounding another video store. Ottawa city officials debated for several months with supporters of Family Video, which requested to open a video rental store in Ottawa. During the zoning debate, no one mentioned Ottawa already had a video store, Collins said.

“The Chamber of Commerce didn’t say anything. The city officials didn’t say anything,” Collins said. “If my business was that insignificant, then maybe I don’t need to be in business in Ottawa. Maybe I just need to retire, so that’s what I’m going to do.”