AUSTIN (KXAN) — After 38 years in business, Lucy in Disguise on South Congress Avenue is celebrating its final Halloween. This comes after the year-round costume store announced in August it would be closing by the end of 2022.
Store Manager Jerry Durham said on Sunday it’s been nice to see regulars return for the store’s final Halloween, but it’s also been hard among the team members.
“I think the emotional part has just been kind of working with our crew for the last time, like knowing this will be the last Halloween all of us are working together. A lot of us have worked here for a long time, and we ultimately have a pretty low turnover rate,” Durham said.
He explained this October hasn’t been as busy as previous years, as most people visited Lucy in Disguise in August and September to prepare for Halloween early.
Durham said they’re out of common costumes like pirates, so if you’re looking to grab a last-minute outfit for Halloween on Monday, you might have to get a little creative.
When we spoke to Durham in August, he said there were a few factors that played a part in the business closing, including the pandemic and supply chain issues.
“We order from a lot of different companies. We source from a lot of different places,” Durham said in August. “It’s really been a challenge to keep the store as well stocked as people are used to it being.”
He also said South Congress is changing.
“The style of South Congress doesn’t feel like what it was when we started the store,” Durham said in August. He’s been with the company for nearly 13 years.
When asked where Austinites will go to grab unique costumes in the future, Durham said, “I don’t know.”
“There’s not a lot stores like ours in the world, and I don’t see another store that would be able to replace us, so I’m not sure where people would end up,” he said.
For now, Durham said Lucy in Disguise doesn’t have a set closing date but estimated it could happen in December. The team is allowing the inventory to determine when it’s time to close up shop for good.
