The Little Gnome Closure

Update: June 2025

The City of Spring Grove has undergone many months of conversations and hurdles regarding the Little Gnome closure. The biggest challenge facing our community at this point is whether or not the building can be purchased by a private or public entity; at this time, the building is bank-owned.

Additionally, while county-wide there is a child care shortage, here in Spring Grove, the question of how to establish more child care spots remains elusive. In order to help provide some direction on bringing more child care services to town, whether it’s re-opening a center, adding hosted spaces for additional family daycares, researching SAC and additional preschool options, or building a brand new (albeit smaller scale) child care “pod”, the City is in the process of consulting with an outside entity. This opportunity will allow for further exploration into the feasibility of re-opening a full-scale center and to then plan a growth and stability blueprint for that business. Alternative options will be explored in this 6 week study, and a community engagement and presentation process will happen at the conclusion.

For more information regarding this process, which is set to start in July 2025, please contact the Spring Grove EDA. If you are a child care provider, or are looking to start your own licensed child care business, please reach out to Jayme Longmire, EDA Director.

August 12th 2024

The City of Spring Grove and the Spring Grove Economic Development Authority learned of the Little Gnome’s sudden closure after being notified of the Facebook post made on Saturday, August 10. The City was not informed of this decision in advance of the closure and city officials are actively trying to gather more information; we will provide further updates as they come in.

In the meantime, here are some resources to help address the immediate needs of the affected parents and employees:

Parents:

Employees:

Info
Written by Courtney Bergey Swanson On