Another local business shuttered by the pandemic.
EJ’s Fabulous Finds is closing down, two years after COVID-19 began.
Owner, Elizabeth MacLean has been operating the shop for 10 years, first in Bridgewater, and later, in Newcombville.
Business was going good – until COVID hit.
“It’s really tough doing a small business,” she says. “I went pretty near two years with COVID where I didn’t get paid.”
In late January, they made the difficult decision.
“We just can’t do it anymore; we did a good run of it.”
Over a decade in the making
EJ’s moved to North Street in Bridgewater from the valley in 2005 before relocating to Newcombville.
MacLean’s store is no stranger to the pivot. Two name changes and several product changes later, What started as a dream bookstore now sells a collection of country décor, fashion and books — “a little bit of everything,” as MacLean calls it.
Unable to pivot once again to an online store, EJ’s struggled through the pandemic doing curbside pickup before finally calling it quits.
MacLean even picked up a second job during the pandemic to pay for the stock she couldn’t sell.
falling through the cracks
As a one-woman show with no employees, MacLean’s store wasn’t eligible for many pandemic assistance programs. And some that she was, she had trouble navigating the paperwork.
“My business is done – it’s over. But I hope there’s a lot of small businesses that can get through the struggle and still make it.”
While she’s working elsewhere, EJ’s will remain open part-time until September to sell off remaining stock. MacLean posts the store hours for the week on the Facebook page each Sunday night.
MacLean encourages people to support local shops.
