COLUMBUS, Ohio — Outside of Short North-based boutique Tigertree, there is a message: “This Was Preventable.”
For owner Josh Quinn, who started the independent retail business in 2007, that message speaks volumes about these uncertain times.
“I don’t understand how this public health crisis, with clear scientific data, has become a political issue at all. How much better and how much of this was preventable if we would have had a mandate in March,” said Quinn.
Months later, Ohio was flattening the curve and Quinn thought our state was going to get over the hump, so Tigertree reopened in June with a limit of five customers at a time.
But as cases began to rise again, Quinn knew the writing was on the wall, and he didn’t want to continue operating in an environment that jeopardized his employees and customers safety.
So, the businesses shifted to e-commerce — shutting down apparel and going gift only.
“We have to hunker down and recreate what this brand is, because this crisis is really accelerating all of the trends that were happening in retail anyway. Our mission now is to reduce the stress of gift-giving, we want to make sure people realize we’re a place that you can go where every product on our site is something we have tested, that we like, that we can talk to you about, that we’re passionate about,” said Quinn.
Loyal patrons say they’ll miss the shop’s authenticity and spending time there before or after grabbing a bite to eat.
“You’d end up spending 30 to 45 minutes just walking around. They had an amazing variety of just gifts, nicknacks, cards, anything you could possibly imagine and it’s just one of the devastations of the pandemic,” said Cleveland resident Dillon McDowell.
Quinn says he appreciates all the support from customers and he urges folks to support independent retailers who are struggling to make it through the pandemic.
“It’s interesting to just see the outpouring of support from our customers just in the stores going away. And so, ruminate on those feelings that you have about the ones that have departed and make sure that you put your dollars and efforts in the ones that haven’t,” said Quinn.
