Batavia costume shop is All Dressed Up with nowhere to go

Julane Sullivan's business is All Dressed Up, and right now it has nowhere to go.

Literally, not figuratively.

Sullivan has owned the Batavia costumery All Dressed Up for 30 years and it has operated in the iconic Campana building for the last dozen. The pandemic has taken what was to be a year marked by a summer anniversary celebration to what she calls a "bleak" future.

"I don't know how long we can last like this," Sullivan said. "Our overhead with 10,000 square feet is enormous, and until theaters reopen we're not going to be able to cover this."

Sullivan says it's the larger orders from theater companies, both professional and student, that make up the bulk of their income.

"Individual rentals can't pay for this space, and who knows when theaters will open or when schools will be allowed to do theater," she said. "We're not a high-profit business to begin with. We haven't raised our prices in 12 years because the market won't bear it."

While they wait for the world to reopen, they've been pivoting their sewing skills to making masks. It's something, but it's not enough to cover expenses. They normally have three full-time and three part-time employees, but she's had to pare it down to just herself and one employee who have manned the store and taken care of previously made reservations.

"It's very sad because this is 30 years of my life," she said. "At some point I had planned to sell all this and this as my retirement, if it all just goes away, then what do I do?"

"It's frightening. It's frightening."

• Do you know of a suburban small business with a compelling story to tell about working through the pandemic? Send photo director Jeff Knox a detailed email with LIFE'S WORK in the subject line at jknox@dailyherald.com, and we'll consider it.