The newest vacancy coming to South State Street will be 310 S. State St., where the Great Wraps owners plan to close in January.

“We just basically couldn’t make it work,” said co-owner Wendy Shinde. “Rents are high and it’s a difficult situation to be in.”

She and her husband, Raaj, opened the franchise of the Atlanta-based company six years ago in the South State storefront. It’s now the only Michigan location for the sandwich restaurant chain.

The Shindes, who live in Hartland, had heard a lot of comments that “if you are in Ann Arbor for five years, you’ll make it,” Wendy said.

However, that wasn’t the case with the restaurant. While its location was on the prime South State corridor — with proximity to the University of Michigan — the rental rates are among the highest in Ann Arbor.

The next tenant for the 1,400-square-foot space will find an asking rental rate of $40 per square foot. A deal is in the works, the landlord said.

“We’re working on signing a lease,” said Deb Pearson of the Ann Arbor-based Bluestone Realty Advisors and the leasing representative for the space.

While Pearson said negotiations could conclude as early as this week, she could not release the nature of the business. However, she expects it not to be a restaurant.

“The business that we anticipate leasing the space to is not a food user,” she said.

Shinde said the foot traffic on the street was high, but the economy caused a slide in business, and the competition from other restaurants was intense. While the foot traffic at first balanced the competitive landscape, that wasn’t sustained.

Over recent months, employment at Great Wraps fell from eight or nine to a staff of two, including Shinde.

She said the restaurant’s last day hasn’t been determined.

“It’ll be sometime by the end of the month,” Shinde said.

As she considered the closing of the restaurant while working the store, she said she could see a sign across the street touting the pending opening of Five Guys Burgers on Jan. 17. That’s one example of the retail growth on the corridor as chains compete for the high-rent space.

And with enthusiasm building for the latest burger shop to open, it also could impact Shinde in her final days on the street.

“Who knows how that’ll affect my closing date,” Shinde said.

Her message as she winds down her restaurant focused on the people who helped her survive there for the last six years.

“Thank you to all of our loyal customers,” she said. “It’s really heartfelt thanks.”

Paula Gardner is Business News Director of AnnArbor.com. Contact her at 734-623-2586 or by email. Sign up for the weekly Business Review newsletter, distributed every Thursday, here.