Union Square Boutique, Grand, Closes

, a Union Square boutique that sold clothing, housewares and quirky gifts, often designed or made by local artists and artisans, has closed, according to the store's website and Facebook page.

In a Facebook update posted on Feb. 23, co-owners Wendy Friedman and Jonathan O'Toole announced that "After 4+ years, your friends at Grand are calling it a day and sailing off into the sunset of Somerville Ave. It's been real, but we're ready to move on to new ventures."

"We just want to sincerely thank all of you who have supported us over the past 4 years," the two wrote.

Somerville Patch, whose editor was on vacation at the time, called the store on March 5, but the phone line was already disconnected.

Grand was arguably one of the businesses in Union Square that helped make the area a hip and creative place. Stuff Magazine named the store's owners "players" of 2008, saying, "If anyone's going to up the cool factor in Somerville's Union Square, it's [them.]"

On the store's Facebook page, a number of people lamented the loss.

The location of the store, 374 Somerville Ave., was recently the site of another closing. Poor Little Rich Girl, which shared a storefront with Grand, .