Hole in the Wall Gallery, eclectic gift store in Lower Burrell, to close
An Alle-Kiski Valley institution, the Hole in the Wall Gallery in Lower Burrell, is closing after 50 years.
The enchanted shop with its wisteria-draped doorway leading to more than a dozen rooms and cubbyholes was the go-to store for unique gifts, jewelry, top-shelf household items and fresh floral arrangements that served generations of residents for every occasion from baptisms to funerals.
“It’s emotional now. This is very hard thing,” owner Christine Dymkoski said.
Even her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Zoie, the store mascot for 13 years, will likely miss greeting customers. Zoie, a mainstay for years on a billboard on the Tarentum Bridge, is arguably more well-known than her owner.
Dymkoski has been thinking about passing on the store to someone for a while. However, this earlier-than-expected closure was caused by family obligations, lack of interest from her children to continue the business and the impact of the pandemic.
A forced closure last year by pandemic restrictions and supply-chain problems, especially with fresh-cut flowers, took the business over the edge, Dymkoski said.
Dymkoski bought the store in 1985, then at a different Lower Burrell location, from Ron and Sidney Raymond. She merged the gift shop with another Lower Burrell business she took over in 2002, Coulson’s Floral.
“These two businesses will always be a piece of my heart,” she said.
The store has seemed like home for Dymkoski for years.
“My children grew up here,” she said. “The customers became my friends and an extension of my family.”
Dymkoski is hoping this is not the end of the store or the unique building of more than 4,000 square feet. Although she is selling her inventory, offering discounts ranging from 30% to 60%, she is still trying to sell the business and building.
“If someone took over this place, it could absolutely continue to be successful if they had a strong online presence and social media,” she said.
Indeed before the pandemic hit, Dymkoski was setting up the store’s website with the thought of modernizing online operations to sell the store to someone else.
Kathy Liveratore of New Kensington said if she had the money, she would buy it. A customer since 2000, Liveratore has furnished her house with Hole in the Wall furniture and merchandise to celebrate all the milestones of life.
She said it’s not just the eclectic items you can’t find at Macy’s or Target — the store is a destination, brimming with colorful and unusual seasonal displays.
“I have often thought that I would like to wake up there on Christmas morning because it is like being in fairyland,” Liveratore said.
Staci Gainor, office manager for Harvest Baptist Church in Harrison, calls on Hole in the Wall for congregation members having a baby or who are in the hospital or who lost a loved one.
“Christine pays attention to details and gives us options to helps us choose the right thing,” Gainor said. “There’s a personal touch there that many online florists would not be able to achieve.”
Dymkoski is not sure when she’ll close the doors and will wait until store items are sold off in the next month or two.
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