LaSheita Sayer has been working on Melody Market, the convenience store in the heart of Five Points, since 2020. It was meant to offer regular goods to residents, all while reminding customers of the neighborhood's jazzy past. After delays, she finally got the place open last April.
But this week, she announced the business will close at the end of January.
"Our ceiling keeps leaking, our rent keeps going up, and the Market, despite its cuteness, is impacted by the closures of other businesses on the Welton Corridor," she posted on social media.
She added she hopes the business can reopen somewhere else but didn't indicate there are firm plans on the horizon.
"It will take a while to recover from the time and money that was invested into this space," her message reads.
Sayer did not respond to an interview request at the time this was published, but we'll update this story if we hear from her.
Five Points has gone through a lot of changes in recent decades. This feels like a low point.
As the Welton Corridor has grown in height with posh new apartment buildings, businesses have struggled to survive. Coffee at the Point, next door to Melody Market, closed a few weeks ago.
Flyfisher Group's Moods Beats Potions bar also closed last year; the developer has been the center of controversy about business stability in the neighborhood. Welton Street Cafe, the long-running and much-loved soul food joint up the block, closed last year after their own issues with Flyfisher, who was also their landlord.
The Five Points Business Improvement's new board chair, Haroun Cowans, has vowed to reverse the trend and ensure Black-owned businesses have a place in the historically Black neighborhood.
Noreen Roman, a resident who lives in the apartments above Melody Market, said she's been disturbed by the spate of closures.
"I don't even recognize Five Points," she told us. "It's a loss to the community."
"We will be open through the last week of January to try to sell the food and snacks we have in stock," Sayer wrote, ending her announcement. "We, my crew and I, would love to see everyone and say thank you for your support in person."
Correcton: This story has been updated to reflect that Melody Market did not rent space from the Flyfisher Group.
