AUSTIN (KXAN) — Jumpolin is closing its doors on its east Austin storefront, but they are far from out of business, they said in a Facebook post Monday.
Owners of the piñata and party supply shop, the Lejarazu Family, said they’ll close at the end of the month, but they’ll continue to do business over the phone, email and through social media.
When the first Jumpolin storefront was demolished in 2015 by developers, the family maintains it was done without their knowledge, and was part of the gentrification of east Austin.
“The horrors that gentrification has inflicted on not just our business and family but of others as well did not discourage us,” they said in the Facebook post, “but rather inspired us to resist the, ‘this is inevitable’ mindset, which encouraged us to reopen along Cesar Chavez.”
The demolition made national news, and when the developers, Jordan French and Darius Fisher, gave their side of the story, they said it was a “last resort.”
The post takes the city to task about rising rent, property taxes and the “new wave of luxurious and expensive amenities.”
“We have seen throughout the years the way our Chicano, immigrant, Black, and working class neighbors of all backgrounds have been forced out of their homes and businesses,” the post said. “These amenities do not cater to the working class that once thrived on the East Side, and have fueled the ongoing displacement of our community.”
The family ended the post saying they “are not defeated,” and they support the work the community has done to fight against gentrification.
“Although we are closing our doors, we hope to see more resistance from our community and wish to continue to serve them in any ways we can.”