The Ann Arbor area community was saddened to hear last January that the Hollander's paper goods store in the Kerrytown area of the city planned to close the following June. Then, the pandemic hit, and the store was shut down early, and owners Tom and Cindy Hollander didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to the community or feel the necessary, emotional closure after being in business for nearly 30 years.
So, they talk with WEMU's Lisa Barry about what that was like, where they are now, and to thank the community for nearly 30 years of memories and business.
Cindy and Tom Hollander opened their popular store in 1991 and announced, at the beginning of 2020, they would be closing the following June. Then the pandemic happened, and they were forced to lay off all their employees and close their doors in mid-March. Any prospects of reopening before the original closing date did not look promising, so they moved out their inventory and shut down for good 3 months early.
Hollander's stocked a large number of greeting cards and unique wrapping papers and was also known for book binding supplies, and the owners say feel like they contributed to the book arts movement.
They have now moved their merchandise to a warehouse in Ypsilanti Township and hope to offer it for sale on their website.
Cindy and Tom Hollander say they are sad they didn't get to say goodbye to the community because they had to shut down earlier than planned. But they said they are grateful for all the memories and friendship and support they received during their nearly three decades of business in Ann Arbor and said they are so sorry they weren't able to say goodbye in person but plan to stay in touch with many regular customers and the community.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu
