By Jacob Mathias

Dala’s Import Oasis and owner Dala Quimby- both longtime downtown fixtures- will soon be leaving the storefront as the business closes.

Quimby announced this week that she is planning to retire and the store she has operated at 925 Main St. for 10 years will be closing up shop on December 31 as she starts a new chapter of her life. Prior to opening the Oasis, Quimby was a manager for over 20 years at the downtown stores Vagabond Imports and the One Stop Sports Shop.

She looks forward to sitting on her porch and watching hummingbirds while sipping lemonade.

“I’m going to canoe and I’m going to bike and I’m going to walk but the big thing I’m going to do is garden,” said Quimby. “Why do I have a beautiful farm if I can’t enjoy it.”

She said she used to work nine gardens on her farm outside of town but hasn’t been able to attend to them since she opened her store. She still has 18 fruit trees and multiple berry bushes producing as well.

“I wanted to make it kind of the Garden of Eden, live off the land. It’s all organic,” she said.

She also plans spending time with her mother who is in an assisted living facility and helping the other residents there as well. She’s going to volunteer where her mother lives and start a drum circle, read to the residents and organize walks.

Quimby is going to miss the customers she’s gotten know after her 32 years downtown but said she’ll still be downtown from time to time.

“All those customers are my friends. A lot of the people are my friends,” she said. “I promise I won’t hide out on my farm.”

She said she enjoyed owning and operating her store which sold unique imported clothing and accessories, about 65 percent of which were certified Fair Trade.

“I had worked for somebody in an import store for 20 years. So to be able to express myself and to buy all the things that I knew that people wanted…I was able to come up with good quality imports,” she said. “I would hand pick the jewelry and the scarves and clothing.”

Quimby said her store’s retirement sales will be announced on Facebook.

“What we’re doing here is a ‘let’s be happy for Dala, she gets to retire sale,'” she said. “If I leave, I want to make it happy…my life is going to change. This is a time for change.”

Dala’s Import Oasis is located at 925 Main St. The store is open from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Tuesday through Friday and on Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.