Family business closes storefront in downtown Puyallup amid rising costs
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The Candle Bar closed its downtown Puyallup shop due to costs and low foot traffic.
- Owners are shifting online, announcing pop-ups, custom and mobile services.
- Store opened in 2021; customer drops, material shortages and rent hikes hurt business.
A local business run by a mother-daughter duo in Puyallup has closed its physical store and is shifting to online ordering.
The Candle Bar – a candle-making shop that used to be at 108B N. Meridian in downtown Puyallup – made a Facebook post on Dec. 22, 2025 announcing that Jan. 24 would be its last day in the downtown Puyallup space.
“This is not something we ever wanted to do, and it’s been an extremely emotional choice for us,” the post said. “Rising product and rent costs have made it no longer financially sustainable for us to continue in this space.”
However, the business has not closed permanently – instead, it is shifting online.
“This isn’t goodbye, it’s just the start of a new chapter. We’ll still be making candles with you and for you!” the post said. “Online ordering will be returning soon, we’ll be offering pop-up candle-making parties, custom orders, and best of all, mobile candle-making experiences where we come directly to your location! Don’t be surprised if you see our candles pop up in some local shops & salons too!”
In October, Caitlynn Mattson – who ran the shop with her mother – spoke to The News Tribune about the struggles in keeping The Candle Bar open. Among the factors were rising costs and declining foot traffic.
“At this point, we definitely could not make it the two years for the rest of our lease,” Mattson told The News Tribune in October.
The News Tribune reached out to Mattson to follow-up about The Candle Bar’s closure and ask when pop-ups and online ordering will be available, but did not receive a response by deadline.
What was The Candle Bar and what led to the storefront closure?
The shop opened in 2021, and stemmed from Mattson’s love of 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 previously told The News Tribune.
She went to her mother with the idea and she loved it. Hence, The Candle Bar was born.
Customers got to pick their own container and then choose between 120 different scents, mixing-and-matching up to three. Mattson then instructed them on how to measure the scents, measure the wax and pour it. Once it was done curing and hardening, guests got to return home with their own custom-made candle.
“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 previously said.
Mattson said she and her mother first started noticing financial red flags in September 2024, a little over a year before their closure.
“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 in October. “But the past two summers, we’ve really seen a dip and that’s continued into what would normally be our busier seasons.”
At the shop’s peak, they were seeing about 200 customers a day – but by October, that had declined to 100.
Material costs also skyrocketed, and at one point, Mattson said there was a nationwide shortage for the specific wax The Candle Bar used. On top of that, the shop’s rent increased every year. Rent started at $5,000 but four years later, it had climbed to $6,000.
““[We’re struggling to] just kind of maintain those very basic needs to stay open,” Mattson said in October.
Customers can stay up-to-date on The Candle Bar’s transition into an online business at thecandlebarpuyallup.com or by visiting their Facebook and Instagram, @thecandlebarpuyallup.
