By Sheila McLaughlin
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LOVELAND - Two stores are closing at the Shopper's Haven strip mall. But, city officials say, it's not a sign that the town's retail district is dying.

School Tools, a unique supply shop that recently won a Cincinnati Magazine "Best" award, closed Friday after five years in Loveland. Owner Joel Collins says he's gone broke because he didn't get school-based support he anticipated after opening a second store in West Chester last year.

A few storefronts away, Art Jewelers will go out of business next month after 20 years. Co-owner Gail Maloney said her husband, Wayne, is taking a more profitable job running a production department for a jewelry manufacturer.

"You just can't do two jobs," Maloney said. "We're kind of at that point in our lives where they made a very good offer with health benefits and everything."

Assistant City Manager Tom Carroll said he's sorry to see the stores go. But he rejected any suggestion that the closings signaled problems in the Loveland-Madeira business district, even though the city is studying the area as a possible future site for urban renewal.

"I don't think that's the case. The economic climate has pretty much stayed the same," Carroll said. "We've seen comings and goings. We're consistent with the suburban marketplace and virtually unchanged from year to year, although there has been movement in and out."

Collins, whose shops offered supplies for students, teachers and parents as well as tutoring and educational programs, said his business fell to the economy and big box discounters.

"We basically are a full-service operation, a traditional store," Collins said. "You can't operate a full-service operation these days in a discount environment."

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E-mail smclaughlin@enquirer.com