Starling Magickal Occult Shop, a French Quarter business since 1995, is facing financial challenges after Decatur Street construction and other setbacks, leaving its owners uncertain about their future.
As the shop is located on the 1000 block of Royal Street, the owners said they didn’t initially expect to be impacted by the project.
“It’s never just one thing. It’s like a set of dominoes,” said Claudia Williams, Starling’s co-owner with her husband, Jan Spacek.
The spiritual shop has been a community fixture for decades, offering a place of healing and reflection.
“People since Katrina started coming in and said, ‘I survived Katrina and my marriage didn’t.’ And they leave the wedding rings on the altar, to bless themselves, to bless their former partner and hope that both of them can go further,” Williams said.
The owners said the shop has lost out on $75,000 of profits since the Decatur construction project started.
“The heat was brutal. That kept people off the streets. But those people who might have ventured down weren’t venturing down because of all the construction on Decatur Street,” she said.
While the majority of barricades have been taken down, the couple is worried about how they’ll recover from the loss.
Without warning, Williams said the property lost its insurance, forcing the mortgage company to impose its own coverage, which increased their mortgage by over $1,000 a month.
“With the lousy past six months or eight months that we had, that was just too much,” Williams said.
Spacek and Williams have also lived in the building since the shop opened nearly 32 years ago, and have made the building physically accessible for Spacek, who is in a wheelchair.
“We’re at risk for losing that,” Williams said. “You can’t really just go to another place. This place has been carefully set up to be what we need it to be, and do what we need it to do.”
Community fundraising efforts have raised over $1,000 so far, and Williams and Spacek are hopeful that compassion will help them through this difficult time
“On a practical level, that often works out. That’s what you need. That’s community,” said Jan Spacek, co-owner. “That’s not business. It’s not making a buck.”
The city has established grant programs to help businesses affected by the Decatur Street construction, but Starling Magical Occult Shop does not qualify because it is located outside the listed area of impact on the Greater New Orleans website.
Williams said they have until Dec. 15 to pay off their mortgage.
READ MORE:French Quarter shop struggles to survive
