Northwest Beads to Liquidate Inventory

Northwest Beads co-owners Patty Bartlein and Julie D’Amico-Beres will begin liquidating the inventory in their store April 1 as they prepare to step down from the business.

The lives of the two women have taken turns in separate directions, and they mutually decided to put, N88W16741 Main St., up for sale before their lease expires in July.

Bartlein has been experiencing some health issues that will require her to miss extended time from the store. D’Amico-Beres, a teacher at North Middle School, plans to attend graduate school this fall.

The store has been on the selling block since the , but a buyer hasn’t stepped up. Bartlein said they have fielded a number of calls from people expressing interest and had one walk-through, but nothing has been solidified.

“So far we’ve, had a lot of inquiries and one person walked through, but so far no sale,” Bartlein said. “We have not had anything we deem is going to be a done deal.”

If a buyer doesn’t emerge before the end of July, there will be a new vacancy along Main Street downtown.

Bartlein and D’Amico-Beres said they would ideally like to find a buyer to keep the store in Menomonee Falls. However, they will also consider selling their entire inventory to a buyer who would like to start a business elsewhere.

“We’re still hoping, but I guess since we haven’t had anything come out of most of the inquiries, we are thinking the closer we get to July we are almost forced to start liquidating,” Bartlein said.

Bartlein said they will discount their inventory 30 percent starting April 1, and deeper cuts will continue as their July deadline nears. Prices will continue to drop to 70 to 80 percent or best offer. Once the calendar turns to July, Bartlein said they will sell of the fixtures and tables in the store.

“A lot of the customers are so bummed,” Bartlein said. “They come in for very specific things, and people that come in from all over for our trunk shows.”

Bartlein said the clock is ticking. She recently had an optical surgery and will require another one soon. She’s running the store while recovering from the operation.

“Time couldn’t speed up for me fast enough, but it’s hard to run the store without a main person here,” Bartlein said. “If I had my choice, I wouldn’t be here today, I would be lying on my couch recovering.”

Bartlein said the store will continue to operate like always during the inventory liquidation. She said they will still to offer lessons and will hold one more trunk show before they closing in July.

“We’re still continuing to run business as usual and we are still offering classes. We still have a lot of people coming in to learn lessons before we are gone,” Bartlein said. “We are still busy and we will still have one more of our trunk shows.”