Barracks Row Sporting Goods Store to Close Next Month

The 8th Street SE shop that sells hats and jerseys will close soon after 13 years in business.

Capitol Hill Sporting Goods & Apparels will shutter at the end of the December, when its lease ends, owner Rodney Smith said Wednesday. He said he wanted to stay but needed to make an “economic decision.”

“Small businesses are struggling here,” he said. “We’re just getting by month-to-month.”

The 727 8th St. SE shop is liquidating its merchandise with sales of up to 70 percent off, said Smith, who grew up on the Hill and now lives in Maryland. He said that despite numerous restaurants on Barracks Row, foot traffic is low for him at what he says is the only small, minority-owned sporting goods store in the region.

The 2,285-square-foot space is on the market for $7,236 to $10,473 per month, a listing shows.

Long & Foster Real Estate agent Thomas Walsh said the company is seeking a restaurant or retail tenant to take over in January. Parking spaces in the back of the building could potentially be made into a patio.

“If the tenant wanted to build out, they could potentially create outdoor seating out back,” he said.

ANC 6B opposed an application for live music and dancing at the location in February 2012, as Capitol Hill Corner reported.

Photos via Google Maps and Facebook/Capitol Hill Sporting Goods