Jokers Corner, located on Far Gosford Street, is set to close at the end of the year, leaving behind over three decades of its costume shop legacy.
Sara Hennessy, who has owned the store for two years since taking over from her mother, shared that she plans to move back to Australia and is “ready for a bit of a change.”
Jokers Corner is notably busy on Halloween with customers “queuing out the door”. With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, Ms Hennessy said: “we’ll go out go out with a bang.”
Having worked there for nineteen Halloweens, she has noticed the impact cheap online websites like Temu and Shein have had on sales, as well as shorter university terms leading to less customers coming into the store.
As the owner, this has impacted Ms Hennessy’s finances too:
“There’ll be weeks and months sometimes when you know I won’t take wages or whatever because I’ll be trying you know I want to make sure the bills are paid.
She continued: “It’s just not fair on family life.”
The shop’s closure will have an impact further than Coventry. Jokers Corner is one of the last costume shops in the Midlands.
Customers come to Jokers Corner from as far as Leamington, Leicester, and Rugby. Ms Hennessy said this is one of the reasons why she has “hung on” for as long as she can.
Jokers Corner will remain on Far Gosford Street until the 31st December.
Article and pictures by Samantha Stimpson.