Mon Petit Shoe closing, to be replaced by pub

After four and a half years at 2236 NW Market Street, the children’s boutique Mon Petit Shoe is closing.

Owner Tiffany Lysene tells us that the tough economy is the key reason that they’re closing. “We spend so much time with the business,” Lysene says, “It just doesn’t make sense to continue if we aren’t making money.”

Lysene is active with the In Ballard Merchants Association and will continue to work with that organization. She also runs a manufacturing business that will keep her busy once the store is closed.

For the next couple of weeks everything in the store will be 30-percent off. After that the deals will get better and better. The store will officially close on December 21st.

Ballard Ave Pub will replace the shoe store. They recently applied for a restaurant/lounge liquor license. According to the license application, the license is “to sell spirits, beer, and wine by the individual serving for on-premises consumption. In this case, less than 50 percent of the establishment is dedicated to dining.”

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

74 thoughts to “Mon Petit Shoe closing, to be replaced by pub”

  1. It’s right across from the end/beginning of Ballard Ave… Differentiates it from the Market Arms while still “locating” it. Not exact but not out of comprehension

  2. Great. Ballard will soon resemble Belltown. We all know the rest of that story. How much longer til we hear about the “need for more police presence”? As a non-drinker I could give a rip about yet another bar. Buh bye shoe guys. Hello Al Cohol.

  3. Has anyone who continually makes flip comments about how Ballard is becoming Belltown actually ever been to Belltown?

    Belltown and Ballard are absolutely nothing like one another. Get a clue.

  4. Buh-bye is right! If Ms. Lysene really wanted to be in the retail business she would have 1) been present in her own store more, 2) hired actual “sales” clerks who were knowledgeable about the products and could actually interact with children and 3) broadened her selection of products to reflect an array of prices (and a changing market). Anyhow, I’m glad that she is going back to what is clearly her priority — manufacturing.

    I used to split my purchases (splurges) between Mon Petit and Market Street Shoes. And, for the last two years, I opted to purchase (splurge) exclusively from Market Street Shoes. They actually have some awesome, experienced staff.

    I know my tone seems mean, but almost each one of my experiences at Mon Petit sucked.

  5. I agree with some of what ballard_egg is saying. I visited this shop before I had children to buy gifts, and have since been there after having a baby. They never had anything I needed/wanted and the staff wasn’t friendly or helpful. And yes, everything seemed so much pricier (not even enticed by the sale). They didn’t get their market all-around.

    Not sorry they are leaving, but would like to have seen another children’s store open up.

  6. There is a huge difference between clubs and pubs in terms of crowd. It is a pretty bad comparison, but I agree with the thought of we are getting a hell of a lot of bars around here…. Wish it was something different, but will still go if it is any good

  7. I was wondering what store Mon Petit Shoe was, until I realized it was for children. I’ll probably get flamed for saying this, mom dear, but I always thought replacing a well-regarded model store with a kid’s shoe store didn’t make sense. While I might visit this new pub often, I’d never set foot in a shoe store for tiny humans.

    Actually, we really do need a GOOD pub closer to Market. The closest one that has decent beer and tasty food is The Loft, which is just a little too far to pop in for a pint during a shopping trip.

  8. Sorry for the loss of another small business,…..sad to see it but people are shopping for deals out there not so much who the business is and what the do for the community.
    As far as the bar goes does Ballard really need another Bar? Is this what are
    little world is coming to Being Drunk 24/7 and wasting your paycheck away.
    If we could only look back about 20 years and see all the damage our Government has done. We all will be jobless and homeless soon very sad.
    @ Cindy nice rude comment you Lush!! Try Aurora

  9. You know what though, the ciggybutt covered sidewalks on Ballard Ave (near the Ryther thrift shop) very much remind me of Belltown streets at 8AM. They’re brighter and wider downtown, but just as filthy.

  10. It’s not really kids shoes, it’s an assortment of children’s things but I’m with ya on missing the old toy store that was there. :)

  11. I would say that, but man have you seen the crowd on Saturday nights? I avoid the downtown Ballard core like the plague…all these chicks in small satin dresses and heels. This ain’t Pioneer Square ladies! It’s just odd to me that NONE of these people actually live in Ballard, it’s just their weekend destination (much like downtown Seattle/Belltown is). For those of us who live/work/shop here, it kinda feels like we’re being invaded sometimes. :)

  12. If you folks want businesses other than bars, then you’ll have to start spending some money at them. Bars/pubs make money, kids shoe stores don’t.

  13. Like, totally. I saw three sequin-dressed high-heeled twats walking arm-in-arm down Ballard Ave Sat night. It made me want to throw an umbrella at them (actually, my friend did). Of course, they were on their way to King’s Hardware. And on election night, I had a rough time finding a bar in Ballard that would turn off the NBA game to put on the news. The bridgers and tunnelers have migrated…Pioneer Square to Belltown to Fremont to my beloved Ballard. So what’s to be done? Us mature folk gotta hit the town more often!

  14. Thanks, anonymous, I hadn’t thought about the Tactical Women’s Alert Team in years, but you helped me out. Makes me want to dust off my vinyl Cheech and Chong’s “The Wedding Album”, except I’d have to also dust off my turntable. But thanks for the memories.

  15. ‘all these chicks in small satin dresses and heels”

    I agree, all a good woman in Ballard needs to wear are rubber boots and a hoodie to be stylin’.

  16. I should have been more specific…”club wear”. If you haven’t noticed, we have no clubs here, just bars. And personally, I don’t normally put on hooker clothes to hang out at the local watering hole. Maybe that’s the style these days, I wouldn’t know.

  17. “sad to see it but people are shopping for deals out there not so much who the business is and what the do for the community. ”

    Please see above. People chose to not shop there because of what the business is and what it DOESN’T do for the community. Sounds like they voted the way you’d like and yet you’re still not happy.

  18. Now we’re harkening waaay back to Ballard Ave’s days of yore. Saloons AND whorehouses?! We should thank the skanks for filling in Madame K’s shoes ;)

  19. Now we’re harkening waaay back to Ballard Ave’s days of yore. Saloons AND whorehouses?! We should thank the skanks for filling in Madame K’s shoes ;)

  20. You are talking about an old part of Ballard, that is not due to the rise in bars. That is due to the customers of the Smoke Shop.

  21. You said “decent beer and tasty food.” Admittedly, my last experience at People’s Pub was a bit maddening, but you’re telling me you wouldn’t polish off a plate of their spaetzle?

  22. The thing that’s most annoying about those sleazy skanks who’ve invaded Ballard is that they’re invading places like the Sloop. Please go back to Belltown, skanks, and take your frat-boy a-hole boyfriends with you.

  23. At least the cops will be trolling for DD’s more often now that there is yet another bar. Makes me feel safe as long as I’m not out driving around.

  24. I don’t quite understand – should people be shopping somewhere just because of who the business is and what they do? I am all for patronizing a business that you see as a “good citizen” IF they are selling something you want to buy. But even in flush times I don’t think anyone had the mindset of “well this is both expensive and not what i want but I like them so I’ll buy it”

  25. Skank = well-dressed women who ignore you?

    They could film a whole decades worth of TLC’s ‘What Not To Wear’ within in Ballard….

  26. Places with better beer and tastier food closer to Ballard and Market than The Loft: People’s Pub, Old Town, High Life, Market Arms. Debatably, King’s Hardware, though I’m not a fan of their type of food.

    Places with better beer and tastier food than The Loft that are about the same distance to Ballard and Market: Bad Albert’s, KISS Cafe.

  27. Why wear make-up when I’m just going to sweat it off at Olympic Athletic Club later? I just hop in my Volvo wagon and head home and cook some lefse and lutefisk in my wool sweater instead of driving across town to invade some other neighborhood with my frumpy makeupless Norsk ways.

  28. “I don’t normally put on hooker clothes to hang out at the local watering hole.”

    No, like most folks in Ballard it’s probably ‘mom jeans’, sneakers and a t-shirt. It’s why it’s so hard to tell the men from the women in Ballard.

    Stay classy.

  29. Seattle hands out liquor licenses faster than parking tickets. wow.

    Can’t wait to see the holiday shopping marketing campaign for ballard this year. Come to ballard-drink-buy sushi to give your loved ones-and drink more. Maybe all the bars should put up christmas window displays like the stores on small town streets used to.

    Young women dressed like hookers will certainly get more cops driving the avenue. They still won’t get out of the patrol car but they will be looking.

  30. Can we focus on the positive? One Ballard business goes out of business. Big concern to the community. But, another business moves in. Great.
    now, think about all the empty storefronts on Market Street. Go ahead, count ’em. That’s real tragedy. Com’ on, this is our community. We need to stand together to find ways to fight for it.

  31. I’m not making that comparison yet, but that is what people said about Belltown when things moved up from Pioneer Sq and other areas. The potential for it to become like B-town is very great because of how it could be developed commercially. B-town is built-out but no matter what you might believe about Ballard it has a lot of room to grow and people eager to invest.

  32. I’m not making that comparison yet, but that is what people said about Belltown when things moved up from Pioneer Sq and other areas. The potential for it to become like B-town is very great because of how it could be developed commercially. B-town is built-out but no matter what you might believe about Ballard it has a lot of room to grow and people eager to invest.

  33. “I don’t normally put on hooker clothes to hang out at the local watering hole”

    Right there, when you compared your attire (mom jeans and sneaakers) to theirs.

  34. I’m glad something’s going in, but I would rather it weren’t another pub. I don’t have anything against pubs — I’d probably go there if I had more money — but I’d rather have something like a reasonably-priced clothing store, a bookstore, a toy or game store, etc.

  35. Agreed. One way to make the best of the bars and restaurants is to encourage them to carry local products and support other local businesses. You can even do this with booze now: Ballardite-owned Sound Spirits makes Ebb+Flow vodka and gin from Washington barley right in their Interbay shop. And it’s good. Drinking isn’t so terrible if done in moderation – in these hard times, it’s nice to take a break and enjoy a good cocktail with friends – and you can do it with a clear conscience by drinking local. I hope the new place has live music and a good trivia night.

  36. feel free to open any one of those things, ethel! it would be great for you to personally subsidize this desire of a handful of neighborhood residents. that’s SO GENEROUS of you!

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