It appears that North Sails has closed their retail location in the heart of Newport at 172 Thames Street.

On Monday evening and Tuesday morning, What’sUpNewp observed a U-Haul out in front of the business being loaded with contents, merchandise, and fixtures from the store. On Tuesday afternoon, the store was completely empty with no note or sign on the door indicating when or whether they would reopen.

The North Sails website no longer shows Newport as having a retail store location and social media accounts for the store no longer can be found. A request for comment from North Sails has not been responded to as of publishing time.

The store opened on October 17, 2016.

This story will be updated if more information is received.

Ryan Belmore is the Owner and Publisher of What'sUpNewp. Although not the founder or original owner, Belmore has been with What'sUpNewp since its early beginnings in 2012.

Belmore was born in Providence, Rhode Island; grew up and graduated high school in Coventry, Rhode Island; and lived in Newport, Rhode Island for more than ten years. He currently serves as Vice President of the Board Of Directors for Fort Adams Trust and on the Board of Directors for Potter League For Animals.

He and his wife, Jen, as well as their two dogs (Aero and June), recently moved to Alexandria, Virginia. Belmore travels back and forth to Newport every couple of weeks to cover events, work on story ideas, to meet with What'sUpNewp's on-the-ground contributors, to visit friends, and to eat as much seafood as possible.

Belmore is a member of Local Independent Online News Publishers, Society of Professional Journalists, and the North American Snowsports Journalists Association.