By Wailin Wong |
High-end boutique Jake is closing its Gold Coast store at the end of the month, bowing to economic woes that have forced other luxury retailers into similar dilemmas.

“Honestly, for the last 18 months we feel like we’ve been swimming against the current,” said Lance Lawson, who together with Jim Wetzel built Jake into one of the trendiest boutiques in the Midwest and a beacon for new designers. “Retail has changed a ton. Our business model really has been impacted by the changing consumer spending habits…We felt like it was time to move on and do something different.”

Jake encountered financial problems as the economic downturn cut deeply
into luxury spending. It was hit with an involuntary bankruptcy petition
last year by designers claiming unpaid debts. Jake Retail Group LLC
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month.

Lawson said he and Wetzel plan to open a pop-up concept store called
space519 on May 1. The store, which will be at the 900 Shops on Michigan
Avenue, will focus on small items in the $50 range such as accessories,
home goods, apothecary products and electronics. Another venture will
open on the north side of the city this fall, Lawson said.

“People are really reacting right now to the excitement of picking up
something small” that still feels like a luxury, such as a “cool handbag
or a neat, vintage re-tooled watch,” Lawson said. He added that he
doubts he and Wetzel will return to the high-end luxury apparel that was
the basis for Jake.

The Jake store at 939 N. Rush St. closes at month-end and is currently
holding a sale with items up to 80 percent off. The boutique’s closure
follows that of fashion boutique Ultimo and designer Mario Pinto’s West
Loop shop.