Family-owned small business sees closure for the first time in years – Frederick News Post

For the first time since 1978, family-owned business Stover Hearth and Patio on Baltimore National Pike closed its doors and did not re-open them the next day.

Christie Stover, co-owner, couldnt bring herself to shut down the store last Monday, after Gov. Larry Hogan ordered all non-essential businesses to close by 5 p.m. Instead, she asked an employee to lock up the building.

And it was very strange to come down around 5:30 and see the showroom completely empty and shuttered, Stover said.

Stover and her husband have been running the business as its second generation since 2013, when Stovers father-in-law fell sick. In the past, the store, which specializes in furniture, has only been closed for a day at a time to account for blizzards. But now, it looks like the store will be closed indefinitely.

Thats what bothers Stover the most: the uncertainty of it all.

We cant plan for anything because of this massive cloud of uncertainty that hangs over not just us but the whole country, and all small businesses, Stover said. We dont want them to lift the mandatory closure order before its absolutely safe.

In the meantime, the owners are trying to cut costs in any way they can. Theyve turned the heat, air conditioning and electricity off and have stopped paying themselves. They havent laid off any of their seven employees, although they have volunteered to cut their own hours to keep the business afloat.

Stover said that the businesss revenue has already fallen by 83 percent since the closure.

Katie Stover, Christies daughter, said that the store has been a constant her entire life. Its where she and her brother would go after school to wait for their parents to get out of work, where she would work on the weekends growing up and occasionally full-time.

While she works at a marketing agency now, and she said that her parents have never made her feel like she is expected or obligated to take over the family business, Katie always figured it was a matter of when, not if.

Its always been there in the future at some point, Katie said.

Now, its starting to feel like an if.

The business is currently operating in the only way it really can: virtually. Christie and the employees have created tours of the showroom to post online and are taking orders over the phone. They can offer contactless curbside pickup or delivery, which Christies husband does himself.

After the Stovers had to close their doors, they received a Facebook message from a customer saying that she knows they can get through this time and is supporting them.

It was at that moment that I realized, were closed physically but were united virtually, Christie Stover said. It made us all feel better.

Christie came up with the hashtag #ClosedPhysicallyUnitedVirtually to share on social media to promote the idea that businesses might be forced to close their doors, but will still remain connected to their communities.

I dont think most people realize that small businesses are like the thread that runs through the fabric that binds all of us in the community together, Christie said. You know, its not just us, its all the small businesses.

The Stovers applied for a $10,000 small business grant, but were later told by the State of Maryland that they are still processing the thousands of applications and have no idea when the money will actually come in.

Its wonderful to talk about all this aid and all this help thats out there in the news media, but the reality on the ground for us is there is no help, there is no aid financially, for the most part, Christie Stover said.

But the Stovers feel supported by their customers and the community around them, and hope to support other Frederick businesses as well.

We know all the small business owners, and its were all in this together, and we cant go see one another so were reaching out virtually and trying to reassure each other anyway we can, Christie Stover said.

Katie thinks about the small businesses as her neighbors, and where someone might go to get a sponsor for their high school football team or a host for a fundraiser.

Thats all coming from small businesses and your neighbors and the people who are there for you and make it a fun place to be and a fun place to live, Katie Stover said. I think right now were really at risk of losing a lot of what makes a community right now.

Follow Erika Riley on Twitter: @ej_riley

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Family-owned small business sees closure for the first time in years - Frederick News Post