Redmond Snow and Skate, an outdoor sports shop on 315 SW Cascade Ave., will close at the end of January.

Owner Rick Castro said poor preseason sales for the El Nino winter and a slow start to the snow season brought a tough end to what had been a tough year,

Castro opened on Cascade Ave. about a year and a half ago after operating downtown for about five years.

“We are closing the store, we are liquidating all the inventory, and we are selling the building,” Castro said. “We had a really slow 2023. Sales were probably down 50 to 70% every month. And that coupled with a very slow, weak start, and a very poor snow season. It was a writing on the wall kind of thing.”

Castro said his shop also had weak preseason sales in October and November, and said he made a calculated move then to close the shop. He said he didn’t think owning a skate and snow sports shop in Redmond would be sustainable in the long run.

“We tend to service Hoodoo people a lot, and Hoodoo didn’t open up until halfway through January,” Castro said. “You have got to ask yourself, ‘Am I going to go in the red? Or am I going to just call it.’ And I thought this would be the safer move. And I didn’t want to take any more chances.”

Castro also once owned The Top Score Arcade at 223 SW 6th Street that has previously closed. After two business setbacks in Redmond, Castro said he and his wife are planning to move to Colorado.

“I am disappointed in Redmond as a town. Not necessarily the inhabitants, but the overall organization and managing of this town I feel needs a lot of improvement,” Castro said. “We watched 40 businesses close down while we were in business. It’s a revolving door. We thought we were immune for a while, we were like ‘Gosh! Look at us.’ That was until 2023. 2023 was just disastrous.”

Castro said despite the setback, he enjoyed his time as a business owner.

“I’m glad I did it, and it was fun while it lasted. Everything has a beginning and an end, and this is ours. No regrets,” Castro said. “I am really grateful. It was fun. And overall I had a really great experience. I learned a lot of lessons. A lot of hard-knock lessons.”

Castro said they must sell its inventory by Jan. 31, so customers can come down and benefit from some steep discounts.