Have you noticed something amiss while walking through town recently? Does some of the usual local and quaint charm seem to be subdued? If so, there may be an answer for the lackluster. Shops in Dobbs Ferry have been CLOSING at an alarming rate!

This may not be breaking news, and perhaps you have already noticed this yourself, but at least three favorite businesses have collapsed drastically.

One of the stores which have closed was the Pop Shop on Cedar Street. This one was a very suspicious occurrence, because it appeared to be a popular (no pun intended), raging, and trendy supplier of clothes. Many shopping bags with the shop name could be seen dangling from customers´ hands over the years. Again, a mystery.

If lack of customers was not a problem, why did Pop Shop collapse? Who knows? Maybe they were concentrating on online business instead. Maybe they were not getting clothes out fast enough. It is very difficult to pinpoint the reason for this business, but the author is still investigating.

Indeed, online shopping has rendered many shop owners without customers. Why leave your home to buy something when you can have it ordered through Amazon Prime? Sadly, even going down the street and into a store is old-fashioned these days.

The exact date Pop Shop closed is also unknown, but a rough estimate yields the result it ceased operating sometime in late March. The lonely mannequins and empty spaces are such a melancholy sight to see.

The next business on our list was actually a restaurant. The one no one saw coming, which is Cedar Street Grill. Unbelievable! Another popular place collapsed without warning! As a side mystery, why is this happening only to POPULAR BUSINESSES on CEDAR STREET?? Cedar Street Grill was a beloved addition to Dobbs Ferry, whether for families dining out or for adults. The exact date of closing is again unknown, but an estimate yields sometime around February 3.

The author cannot provide any significant reason of why Cedar Street Grill failed, and so she will not try. This time, it is a question there is no identifiable answer to as of yet. Cedar Street Grill was a busy, albeit pricey, institution that Dobbs Ferry mourned for many days. The plot thickens.

Finally, an easier loss to bear was Raw Juice, again ON CEDAR STREET. This time, there are possibilities to predict what happened. Did you ever see anyone going into or out of Raw Juice? This was definitely not labeled a ¨popular¨ shop. Loss of profit was just one outcome. Another is lack of ingredients. Their gloomy, darkly tinted windows did not help. Some civilians didn’t even know Raw Juice existed. And Raw Juice was not short of competition. When Mix on Main opened on Main Street three years ago, there was bound to be some challenges for Raw Juice.

Mix On Main, with all of its natural/healthy smoothies, salads, fruits, and interesting decorations, quickly beat out all uncertain customers who were drifting reluctantly to Raw Juice to get their fruity fill. Mix on Main´s boom was Raw Juice´s downfall. We´re sorry, RJ, but it was time for you to go. Raw Juice closed in about January.

Some of Dobbs Ferry´s mysterious business collapses will remain mysteries until another intrepid investigator comes along. For now, we’ll all miss Pop Shop, Cedar Street Grill, and Raw Juice for their wonderful food, clothes, and memories. We just wish the closings were a little more spread out to give Dobbs Ferry time to grieve, and wish they hadn’t happened at all.