Popular downtown Auburn business pivoting, not closing

The sign on the fence in front of Avantgarden in Auburn announces "STORE CLOSING SALE." But the popular business that offers plants, gifts and workshops is only vacating the location at 1085 High Street, tucked into the picturesque corner that brings together High Street and downhill Lincoln Way, with the clock tower across the street. Owner and CEO Diana Bremmer is ramping up Avantgarden online, and she's going mobile. "Bottom line, we need to make money," Bremmer told the Auburn Journal on Monday. "The storefront has slowed to a point where we're really not profitable the way we need to be. Business is shifting online; ecommerce has affected us. Instead of fighting against it, I've needed to embrace it." Bremmer purchased Avantgarden from its founder, Kim Wright, in June 2019, and even though the COVID pandemic struck nine months later, Bremmer said Avantgarden "made it through pretty well." Deemed essential because it possessed a California agricultural license to sell plant material, Bremmer said the store was closed only from March 2020 until May 1. She then enjoyed "the best year I've ever had" in 2021, but business since has been "just a little down," she said, even though Avantgarden won Auburn Journal Best of the Best awards for Nursery or Garden Supply in 2022 and back-to-back honors for Gift Shop in 2023 and '24. "Foot traffic is noticeably less, less frequent shopping, overall purchase totals, just enough to make you go aha, what am I going to do next?" Bremmer said. The answer was growing avantgardenauburn.com, which Bremmer has fine-tuned, adding more items and visibility. "It allows me the ability to offer hundreds of items I never could have in the storefront," she said. "It's an opportunity for me to showcase a lot more product." And … "I'm also taking my show on the road." Bremmer has had a truck and trailer for a couple of years but rarely used it because she was so busy in the store. Now, she plans to be available by appointment to teach her popular classes, such as the fairy garden workshop, succulent planting, terrarium making and pumpkin succulent centerpiece. A substitute teacher, Bremmer said she's working to become a vendor for home school alliances. She's also exploring area fairs and festivals as a vendor. Bremmer worked for Macy's for 20 years, rising to planning and allocation ad director for Macy's West. She said she'll miss the 104-year-old storefront on High Street, where people come to pick themselves up when they're having a bad day, to relax and talk or to let their pets take a break and drink from the courtesy bowl of water out front. "The public is so friendly, and we just like to talk to people," Bremmer said. "That's what I'm going to miss the most." In the meantime, Avantgarden remains open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5. Though there is no set closing date, Bremmer expects the store to close in late July. Said Bremmer, "We're sad, but we're also excited for our next chapter. It's bittersweet."