Small business in Puyallup faces closure due to rising costs, lower foot traffic
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- Puyallup candle studio risks closure as foot traffic falls and costs rise
- Owners return to prior jobs while juggling annual rent hikes and shortages
- Shop seeks community support through bookings, markets, off-site events
A local business run by a mother-daughter duo is at risk of closing in the near future.
The Candle Bar – located at 108B N. Meridian in downtown Puyallup – allows customers to make their own candles from scratch. Caitlynn Mattson, who runs the shop with her mother, Heather Powloski, told The News Tribune the shop opened in December 2021.
“This was kind of a fun idea to be a part of the community that I grew up in a little more intimately and let people be a little creative with me,” Mattson said.
Mattson said that because of declining foot traffic and rising prices, the shop’s future is in danger. They have two years left on their lease – but might have to break it early.
Asked when they could close, she said they don’t have a definite timeline, but that: “At this point, we definitely could not make it the two years for the rest of our lease.”
How did the Candle Bar start?
Mattson said a guest’s candle-making journey starts as soon as they walk in the door.
“You have to come in, choose your own scents, choose the container that you want to use and then I personally walk you through, start to finish,” Mattson said.
Customers can choose between 120 scents, and mix-and-match up to three. Mattson then instructs them on how to measure the scents, measure the wax, and pour it. Once it’s done curing and hardening, guests get to go home and enjoy their custom-made candle.
Mattson said she came up with the idea for The Candle Bar because of her own love for candles.
“I had never actually made them before, I just liked to buy them – and then I was a little picky with it, and then I wanted the container to match my house and everything, and I thought maybe other people were the same,” Mattson said.
She went to her mother with the idea, and she loved it. Then, Mattson found the Candle Bar’s future suite – which used to host a dance studio that she went to when she was a child.
“[When] we actually saw that this specific space was available, that was what really pushed us to sit down and open,” Mattson said.
Why is the shop at risk of closing?
Before they opened the shop, Mattson worked at Desert Sun Tanning while her mother worked at an eye clinic in Milton. They both quit in order to open the Candle Bar, but have recently returned to those jobs because of the business’s troubles.
Mattson and her mother first noticed the red flags about a year ago, in September 2024.
“Right now, our biggest struggle – and I think a lot of other businesses as well – is we’re seeing very slow foot traffic. Summer months are typically our slower months and we’ve made a notice of that over the years,” Mattson said. “But the past two summers, we’ve really seen a dip and that’s continued into what would normally be our busier seasons.”
During the shop’s peak, Mattson said they saw about 200 customers per week.
“Now, we’re pretty lucky if we hit a hundred,” Mattson said. “Like, really lucky if we hit that hundred.”
The mother-daughter duo have branched out by participating in markets and events such as Sip Puyallup. They have also started doing “off-site events,” where Mattson or her mother go to their customers’ houses and do candle-pouring there.
Material costs have also gone up – at one point, Mattson said there was a nationwide shortage for the specific wax The Candle Bar uses.
“[We’re struggling to] just kind of maintain those very basic needs to stay open – getting the materials while also still giving everyone the best candle-pouring experience,” Mattson said.
On top of that, the shop’s rent increases every year. When they first opened, Mattson said their rent was about $5,000. Four years later, it’s a little over $6,000.
“My mom and I, this is our first business together and maybe we were too optimistic,” Mattson said.
Mattson hopes residents will support the business by visiting the Candle Bar, or spreading the word on social media.
“My mom and I both grew up in Puyallup and we have lived here our whole lives,” Mattson said. “So having the support from the city that we were born and raised in means a lot to us, and we try to support other small businesses as we would want them to support us.”
The shop is open from Wednesday to Sunday, with the hours varying each week. Customers can make a reservation online at thecandlebarpuyallup.com. When Mattson and her mother have time, they also put a sign out front that indicates they are accepting walk-ins.
“I want this place to succeed more than anything. I’ve put so much heart and time and expenses into it and have had so many family members help,” Mattson said. “It would be heartbreaking to see us not be able to succeed.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
