On October 28th, Wendy Batiste-Johnson will enter a key into the closed glass door leading into Poshh.  She will turn the key left, the pull it out.  Something as insignificant as locking a door will suddenly have brand-new meaning.  This final locking of the Poshh boutique signifies the closing of a chapter that has been ongoing for ten years.  As with Borders, This and That, and now Poshh, the closing of stores signifies  the end of a prosperous chapter in Liberty Street history.  Hopefully, successful years will come to Liberty Street as old successful stores leave and new stores open.

“We have been in Ann Arbor for ten wonderful years, it’s been amazing,” said Batiste-Johnson about the life of her store.“The main reason [Poshh is closing] is because this is the end of the ten-year lease,” said Batiste-Johnson.

The lease for Poshh ends at the end of October.  Batiste-Johnson said she “had about a year to reflect on whether I wanted to renew or not,” and in the end she decided against it.  After ten years on Liberty Street, she decided that it was time for close– or at least take a break.

The final good-bye won’t be easy, though.   “I think the hardest part [about closing my store] is leaving my clients and staff.  I have loyal clients who have been customers at Poshh since day one,” she said.  This is not hard to imagine, considering the personal shopping experience she creates with her customers.“Poshh was my first-born is what I call it.  I say I have three children, Posh being my oldest,” Batiste-Johnson said.  Because of this, it may seem she would almost regret deciding to close, since she would be leaving her adoring supporters, but she denied any regret whatsoever.   “I love what I do, I love the business, and no, there are no regrets at all.”

Her second, more personal reason for closing her store involved her family.  Although Batiste-Johnson describes Poshh as her oldest child, she has two real children of her own.

“I opened this business when I was 22 years old and I was single, and I had no children and I was able to work 14-hour days, seven days a week, no worries,” she said.  But when she got married and had children, the balance shifted.  It was no longer just herself  she was affecting.  Batiste-Johnson had a family to be with and “right now, my two children, these are my most precious years with them” she said, and she would like to “just enjoy being there with them more.”

In the end, Batiste-Johnson feels she isn’t really closing, just taking a break to focus on her personal life and spend more time with her family.  In the future, though, she said that she has “a lot of different proposals that have been thrown at me, but right now.” Right now, “[i would like to] decide what plan B is,” she said.

One chapter is closing, another is opening.“I will walk away and tell my kids years later that mom had a store that lasted ten years in Ann Arbor and… I chose to walk away because I wanted to be with you guys.  Because of that, I really don’t have any regrets.”

Poshh (located on 535 East Liberty Street) closes on Friday, October 28th, 2011.  Visit poshhionista.com to check for announcements and updates on Poshh, and Wendy Batiste-Johnson.