After 26 years, Kansas City shop will close this location. Sales are on until then

Arizona Trading Co., a Westport fixture since 1998, will close its 209 Westport Road store at the end of this month.

The vintage and used clothing reseller is consolidating its Kansas City operations into its 5,000-square-foot Crossroads store at 1722 Oak St., which opened last year.

Jennifer McKnight, who owns Arizona Trading Co. with Venus Nichols, said the decision was primarily related to space and parking.

“One thing we really like about the Crossroads location is that it has accessible parking,” she said. “Westport has taken on a bit of a different feel in recent years with all the condo development going up. Which is great for bringing people to the area and making it more livable and walkable. But it came with its own set of problems, not least of which is parking.

“And we had outgrown the building a long time ago,” McKnight added. “With the new shop open, we felt it was time to segue into one big space where we can really focus on the business.”

McKnight said crime in the area wasn’t a major factor. Six people were injured, one fatally, in a shooting down the block late last month. Earlier this year, Dave’s Stagecoach Inn at 316 Westport Road announced it would close after 70 years following a shooting outside that bar. Mid Coast Modern, next door to Dave’s, closed this past weekend.

“We’ve been in Westport for 26 years, so unfortunately (last month’s shooting) isn’t the first tragedy we’ve seen,” she said. “But we are a women-owned business that primarily hires female and queer people, so we do really have to consider safety.”

Everything in the Westport location of Arizona Trading Co. is 25% off this week, and the discounts will likely grow deeper until the store closes at the end of June, McKnight said. “We have so many loyal, longtime regulars in Westport, so the sale is kind of a way to hopefully see a lot of them before we go,” she said.

Arizona Trading Co.’s Lawrence location — its first, opened in 1991 — remains open at 736 Massachusetts St.