Back in its heyday, Audrey’s Costume Castle was packed with customers at this time of year.
But now, it’s much quieter.
Audrey’s is officially closing its doors this week, after being in the Kingston community since 1984.
“It was a very emotional decision, first of all, to make the decision to close for good,” owner Scott Perrett says.
“I’ve just been overwhelmed. It’s been extremely taxing. It’s been really tough emotionally and physically.”
It’s been a tough few years for Audrey’s, ever since the pandemic hit. Perrett says COVID-19 is behind the shop closing — it just never recovered.
“Our whole business revolves around people gathering,” he says.
“When people can’t gather for about a year and a half, it was just too difficult to catch up. I tried and I tried, and I just made the decision that enough is enough.”
With the days at Audrey’s coming to an end after nearly 40 years, friends are stopping by to help out and reminisce.
One of those people is former employee Leslie Wandell, who hasn’t worked at Audrey’s in 15 years. But she remembers just how crazy the store was during the Halloween season.
“It was amazing,” Wandell says.
“First of all, chaos, because we’d have to get so many things out because so many people were coming to get their costumes. Plus we had rentals. So regular customers would come in and we’d have to get the rentals, get the bags, put them together, get the shoes, find the outfits, get them all together.”
Before officially closing on the weekend, Audrey’s will be selling off everything it has at deeply discounted prices.
So if you’re looking to get a costume on a budget, and to say goodbye to a Kingston institution, Audrey’s has got you covered.
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