After just a year in business, ThriftyCat, the secondhand shop on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, has closed. The reason for the closure centers around the small parking lot outside the shop, which owner Bryce Kalousek-Maritano wanted to use for both retail and storage.
According to Kalousek-Maritano, before signing a lease in April 2024, he met in person with an assistant city planner and was told he’d be able to use the parking lot for retail and storage.
Believing he had the city’s informal permission, he then signed a two-year lease that did not include mention of the outdoor space. He said he also talked after signing with another city planner, who confirmed what the first planner had told him. (Kalousek-Maritano applied for a business license during this second meeting.)…