Main street businesses were given the green light to reopen from Gov. Steve Bullock on Monday, but it’s too little, too late for Flair Gifts & Cards in Kalispell.

After five years, the downtown Kalispell store is closing its doors due to the economic fallout of COVID-19. Patrons will be able to purchase Flair’s unique cards and gifts for about the next week during its going-out-of-business sale, until the inventory runs out.

“This wasn’t planned,” said Sara Berweger, who co-owns the store with her husband, Ryan. “We intended to keep running the store.”

But the unprecedented slump from the coronavirus-related closures proved too costly for the small business to bear.

The Berwegers stared the business without going into any debt, and they’ve maintained this nearly debt-free approach to the business for the past five years. But when Montana businesses were shut down in late March, they ended up unable to pay back the small amount of debt they had accrued from the holiday season for the first time since Flair opened. With the future still uncertain as to reopening procedures and tourist customers, the Berwegers decided it would be safer to close than risk becoming mired further in debt without the possibility of paying it off.

“It made more business sense to close rather than move on,” Berweger explained.

They tried a few different options to keep the business afloat, including federal programs, grants, online ordering and curbside pickup. But since their store is so small and seasonal, Berweger said the demand simply wasn’t enough. The federal programs through organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce didn’t seem like a good fit for their small enterprise. And when Berweger tried to apply for grants online, the websites were immediately overwhelmed only for the funds to be gone by the time she was actually able to get through.

Now, the Berwegers are just hoping to offload their inventory, which they recently restocked with new seasonal items, and get their products out to customers while they still have the chance. They are also offering shopping by appointment for customers who aren’t able to come to the store while other shoppers are around.

Berweger said Flair has gained a large loyal following of regular customers over the last five years and a lot of people have been sad to learn they are closing. And the Berwegers don’t know quite what’s next for them, either. In the immediate future, Berweger hopes the couple will be able to spend some time rafting, the same way they did when they came up with the idea to start Flair five years ago.

At this point, Berweger said, “The best thing that could happen to us is for people to show their support for our small businesses by coming out to shop.”

“We hope that out of all of this people learn and remember to support small shops in downtown Kalispell,” she added.

Flair, at 123 S. Main St., will be open from noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday until supplies last. Shoppers can also make appointments by calling (406) 407-7210.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.