THE END. 

After 8 years of giving just about everything we had to this place, it’s time to officially announce that The Village Board shop has closed its doors.  For those who have followed our journey, you probably know that the road has been anything but easy. And for those wondering what happened, we know there have been plenty of conversations, assumptions, and stories circulating throughout the community. Some contain pieces of truth, while others couldn’t be further from it. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. But the reality is that very few people know the full story, and quite frankly, we aren’t in a position where we feel the need to explain or defend every decision we’ve made over the past eight years. We took over The Village Board shop on May 1, 2018, with every intention of building something incredible for our community, our employees, and the snowboard and skateboard culture that has been part of South Lake Tahoe for decades. What followed was an uphill battle from almost the very beginning. Years of ongoing litigation, COVID, the Caldor Fire, unpredictable winters, an increasingly difficult retail industry, relocating the business in 2021, purchasing our building in 2023, and the never-ending financial demands of operating a small business in South Lake Tahoe. And those are just the circumstances we can easily put into words.  Running a seasonal, independently owned business in this town is no small undertaking. Add years of extraordinary circumstances, significant legal expenses, rising operating costs, and an industry increasingly dominated by online discounts and large retailers, and the challenges become difficult to sustain. We had countless opportunities to walk away. Looking back, perhaps some opportunities we should have done so years ago. But we didn’t. We kept going because The Village was never just a business to us. It was a community, a family of employees, a place for kids and athletes, and a piece of Tahoe history that we genuinely wanted to preserve. By late 2025, it became clear that continuing to operate as we had was no longer sustainable. We made significant changes, including reducing operations, letting go of our staff, and pursuing other work to support our family. Even then, we didn’t give up on the possibility of The Village continuing.  Over the past year, we explored numerous opportunities involving potential buyers, new ownership, partnerships, and ways to preserve the business and its legacy. At one point, we had what we truly believed could have been an incredible opportunity to revitalize The Village with new ownership and a renewed vision for its future. Unfortunately, those efforts did not result in a completed transition. There is considerably more to that story, including ongoing legal matters, but those details are not something we intend to debate or explain online.  What we can say with certainty is that The Village Board shop did not close because we stopped trying. Quite the opposite. We continued trying long after most people reasonably would have walked away. Eventually, there comes a point when you have to recognize what continuing to fight is costing you and your family. We reached that point.  

WHAT HAPPENS NOW? 

The shop is officially closed, and we are in the process of clearing out the remaining inventory and equipment.  

All remaining merchandise is currently discounted approximately 50–70%, and we are working toward having the building cleared by November 5, 2026. We cannot maintain regular shopping hours. Our family has moved on to other responsibilities, we are no longer in proximity to South Lake Tahoe, and there are several ongoing circumstances limiting our ability to be physically present at the shop. For anyone with an outstanding gift card, store credit, or interest in purchasing merchandise, please reach out to us and we will do our best to coordinate reasonable accommodations and address outstanding requests.  We also anticipate having remaining merchandise after the building is cleared and hope to make it available for discounted online purchases although those arrangements are not finalized. We ask for patience and reasonable expectations regarding response times. We are no longer operating a fully staffed retail business, and our availability is extremely limited.  

TO OUR COMMUNITY 

To everyone who genuinely supported The Village over the years, thank you.  To the customers who continued showing up, the families who supported their kids through our shop, the brands and businesses that partnered with us, the people who attended our events, and those who recognized what we were trying to create — we appreciate you.  And to our employees, past and present, who poured their energy into making The Village what it was — you deserve the biggest thank-you of all. There is a tremendous amount of sadness that comes with closing something we worked so hard to preserve. But there is also an equally tremendous sense of relief in finally accepting that this chapter has come to an end.  The last 8 years have taken more from our family than most people will ever know, and it’s time to direct our energy toward rebuilding our lives and enjoying the things that matter most.  We know people will have questions, and we know everyone will have their own opinions about how things unfolded. That’s fine. But not every circumstance needs to be explained publicly, and not every assumption deserves a response. We know what we put into this place. We know how hard we fought for it. And we can walk away knowing we gave it everything we had.  The Village Board shop has been part of South Lake Tahoe for decades, and while our time carrying that legacy has come to an end, the memories and connections created along the way will always remain. Thank you to those who were part of it.  

42 years. One hell of a story. And finally, the end of a chapter.  

— The Village Board shop —