The former owners of a Doylestown business that sold handmade goods created by local crafters have filed a civil complaint against the current owner of the now-shuttered business.
Filed Feb. 12 in District Court in Doylestown Township by Caitlin Hernandez and Wendy Stone, former owners of Makers Off Main, the complaint seeks a judgment of $12,000 against Jessica Babb, who purchased the business last summer.
According to the complaint, Babb, who reopened Makers Off Main in July and then closed it in mid-December, agreed to buy the business for $20,000, to be paid in monthly installments of $700. It says she paid an initial deposit and made payments from July until November but has since not made further payments and is in breach of the agreement. The former owners are owed $12,950 for the balance of the sale but seek only $12,000, the jurisdictional limit of the District Court, according to the complaint.
Babb said in a telephone interview Tuesday that she had closed the store, which wasn’t making as much money as she had hoped, because one of her sons has a serious health problem. She said her family’s needs come first. “I can only do what I can do,” she said. “I’m only one person.”
Babb said she has yet to receive a copy of the complaint filed by Hernandez and Stone in the mail. “I’m gonna do my best to pay them. I signed a contract,” Babb said. “I understand they’re frustrated.
“I’m a few months behind on my monthly payment plan,” she added. “I can’t pay the full amount (all at once). I just don’t have it…I plan to pay them.”
Bill Goldman, a Doylestown attorney whose law firm represents Hernandez and Stone, said he believes his clients would be amenable to some sort of a payment plan. “What we’d do is take a judgment and agree to payment terms,” he said. “I’m sure they’re willing to work with her.”
The closing of the Doylestown store, located at 38 E. State St., and one Babb owned in Warrington, was announced in a Dec. 16 posting on the store’s Facebook page.
It read: “As many have already heard, we are closing Makers, both locations, to focus on our family’s medical health needs. Our last day for shopping at the Doylestown location is today, December 16th. Thank you to all our amazing customers for supporting us and the wonderful makers community. We will miss you all!”
The Doylestown store was to be one of three businesses under the Makers Around Main umbrella. Babb also owned Makers on Main (formerly The Farmhouse) in Warrington, and last summer she said she planned to open Makers Cafe in Ottsville.
The business carried a variety of regionally crafted products, including jewelry, candles, skin care, woodworking, knitting, sewing, photography, crochet, body care, graphic design, dried floral, leather work, and refurbished furniture.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
