It’s off-season on the Vineyard, traditionally a slow time for business. And at this stage no one knows what the summer will bring.

But changes are under way in the down-Island business landscape this winter. Some merchants have responded to the faltering economy, cutting back hours of operation, holding aggressive sales and reducing staff. Others have subleased their space to help with the rent.

A handful have gone out of business altogether.

Outerland nightclub, which closed last November, is one.

Fancy That, a popular jewelry and gift shop on Union street in Vineyard Haven, plans to close on Feb. 15. Owner Emily Coggins said she is shutting down to spend more time with her family. But she acknowledged that the recession also played a role in her decision.

“With the economy being what it is, I figured it was the right time. Nobody knows if business will get better soon . . . it may get worse,” she said.

The space won’t remain vacant for long. Mix, a popular store at the corner of Union and Main streets owned by Emily Milstein, plans to move into the space occupied by Fancy That and reopen by April 1. The space vacated by Mix will then be filled by Two Susans, which will move from its current basement level location below Mix to its new street level home. Owners Susan Morency and Susan Leland also plan to reopen their new store by April 1.

The game of musical chairs involves Oak Bluffs businesses as well. Shibori clothing on Circuit avenue will relocate to the Two Susans space in Vineyard Haven, also planning to reopen April 1.

One space that will remain vacant for now was formerly occupied by Island CD on Main street, Vineyard Haven. Owner Geoffrey Allan said business has been slow since he moved back to Vineyard Haven several years ago. When he first moved to the new location, he said, things looked promising, but he was never able to generate enough foot traffic for his business to prosper.

Things took a dramatic turn for the worse last Fourth of July when a devastating fire destroyed Café Moxie and seriously damaged the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore. “We were sort of holding on for awhile. But that fire sealed the deal for us. It seemed like it was a terrible summer for retail all around Vineyard Haven. I know a lot of people are struggling to hold on,” Mr. Allan said.

Farther down Main street at Bowl and Board, owner Maria Metters said she and her husband Gary have made changes to compensate for the slow summer and Christmas season. She is currently running a storewide sale of 30 per cent off most items, and has cut back hours of operation and reduced staff.

She said some people have seen the sale signs and asked if she is going out of business or closing for the winter. She tells them she plans to do neither.

“This is the time of year when year-round residents need us the most. I read the headlines and hear the news and I know things are bad, but we need to stay positive. If that means I need to be creative in my buying, or if it means I have to work more at the front counter by myself more, that’s fine . . . that’s what we’ll do,” she said.

J.B. Blau, co-owner of Jabba’s poster shop, said he will move from his current location on lower Circuit avenue into a smaller space he will sublease from Carousel Ice Cream Shop on Circuit avenue.

Mr. Blau said business has been slow and a smaller space will be better.

“People aren’t buying a lot of large items right now. I figured I could focus on the things that are selling the most,” he said, adding: “It’s also a way to save money.”

There is good news about the two Vineyard Haven businesses that burned in the fire last summer. Ann Nelson, owner of the building that housed the landmark Bunch of Grapes bookstore, plans to have the building redone by the start of the summer for Dawn Braash, who bought the bookstore business last year. Ms. Braash is currently operating the bookstore in a temporary location next to Beadnik’s off Church street.

And earlier this month, the owners of Cafe Moxie, Paul Currier and Michael Ryan, submitted plans to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for a new three-story, 49-seat restaurant to be built in the same footprint as the previous restaurant. The owners hope to reopen the new restaurant by the Fourth of July weekend, the one-year anniversary of last year’s devastating fire.

“It’s important to get open by the Fourth [of July],” Mr. Ryan said at a recent commission meeting. “Not just for us, but for the business community.”

Back in Oak Bluffs, Pomodoro’s Pizzeria on Circuit avenue will close its doors this weekend. Co-owner Bill Davies said last week he wants to focus on his landscaping business, and simply doesn’t have the time to run a restaurant.

“I’ve enjoyed running the place . . . I’ve met a lot of wonderful people over the past eight years. But it was time for me to move on,” he said.

Mr. Davies said the space has been leased by Deon Thomas, former owner of Deon’s in West Tisbury. Meanwhile the current owners of Slice of Life, Mary and Jackson Kenworth, are rebuilding the former Deon’s in West Tisbury destroyed by fire last winter and plan to open a new restaurant in time for summer.

Completing the circle, Mr. and Mrs. Kenworth recently sold Slice of Life to new owners Peter and Jennifer Smyth of Oak Bluffs.

There also will also be changes in Edgartown. Two shops — the small gift shop next to Claudia Jewelry on Main street and Murray’s of the Vineyard on North Water street — will be close for good in the coming weeks.

Small businesses make up 85 per cent of all businesses in the commonwealth, according to the Massachusetts district of the U.S. Small Business Administration. There are a total of 126,300 firms with 19 employees or less, which accounts for more than a quarter of the state’s work force.

On the Vineyard small businesses provide jobs for much of the workforce. But numbers released by the state this week show that the unemployment rate on the Island is at an all-time high, even for the off-season. More than 10,000 Cape and Island residents — or 8.7 per cent — were jobless as of last month, according to figures released this week by the state executive office of Labor and Workforce Development. In Dukes County the unemployment rate jumped from 4.5 per cent in December of 2007 to 7.4 last month.

Island businesses are now waiting to see what the summer will bring.

Nancy Gardella, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, said her outlook on the summer season recently changed for the better.

“I’ll be honest, in December when things were slow I was worried. And I stayed worried through the beginning of this month. The phones weren’t ringing . . . things were quiet. And then, just this week, something changed . . . all of a sudden the phones were ringing off the hook,” she said, adding:

“I don’t if it had something to do with [the Presidential Inauguration] or what, but all of a sudden a lot of people were calling and asking about the Vineyard. So I am optimistic. I don’t know what it is, but people in New England feel it is their right to take a vacation and enjoy their vacation. And we hope they will be vacationing here.”