(Logo courtesy of capitolhillbikes.com)

Denise D’Amour, co-owner of Capitol Hill Bikes with Laurie Morin, told THIH today that she could no longer financially manage the three leases she held from building owner and landlord Margot Kelly, and that closing operations there was a “mutual decision.”

“She is not the bad guy here… She felt it was ‘all or nothing’ with respect to the three leases,” D’Amour said of Kelly. The issue was that D’Amour had wanted to scale back to the original footprint, but this wasn’t in the best financial interests of the landlord, who felt it was a bad business decision, according to D’Amour. The beloved bike store had expanded to include the former Alvear Studios space, but D’Amour  said the economic downturn forced her to realize she could not support all three leases.

She said she will follow through on Kelly’s request to put a For Rent sign in the window. The store will be open until stock is liquidated but D’Amour hopes to save money on rent and have everything sold by the end of November, if possible.

As for the future, she says her “heart is in Capitol Hill,” although she lives now in North Beach.  D’Amour says she is not looking beyond Capitol Hill’s borders at this time for a potential new space and is looking for investors.

“We expect to land on our feet,” D’Amour said, who, with Kelly, is on the board of Barracks Row Main Street.