A sign similar to the one above will sadly be posted at the Amber Rose Consignment Boutique in Richland's Uptown on August 31st. The owner of the store passed away last month and her daughter has been running the store. For a quarter-century, they have been a part of what makes the Uptown area of Richland unique. I'll be telling my wife that we have until the end of next month to stop in and maybe find something we (she) can't live without.

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Uptown Richland has been vibrant for many years with between 50 and 70 independently-owned businesses (depending on the year). Nowhere else in the Pacific Northwest can you find such an interesting variety of businesses, like antiques, unusual restaurants, collectibles, and even the historic Spudnut donut shop and tattoo artists. For many years, there was a store that just sold bibles. Need your coat washed? There's a dry-cleaning place that also sells sports memorabilia and autographs. Old-timers in the Tri-Cities might even remember when the Uptown Shopping Center was filled with businesses like Frank Berry's Sporting Goods, Stanfield Floral Shop, and Parker's Hardware. I saw on the news recently that Real Deals in the Uptown shopping center is also struggling to stay afloat and may close.

It's an unfortunate fact of life. Sometimes wonderful things must go away. But we'll always have our memories.

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