- M
- K
Hi! We are Beth Salvini & Amy Swanson—sisters, third-generation letterpress printers, and the owners of Greenwich Letterpress in the West Village. We grew up in New Jersey, and on weekends we loved to come into the city and walk around the Village and admire the small boutiques and eccentric shops that lined the streets. When we opened our store on Christopher Street, fifteen years ago, our goal was to be like one of those shops: a throwback to the days when Mom & Pops ruled and every store was your little “shop around the corner.” To us, what makes New York City so amazing is the variety of independent businesses that color its landscape. Without small business, what would this city be?
Even before Covid-19 hit and temporarily shut us down in mid-March, our neighborhood had already been suffering from years of so-called high-rent blight, in which Mom & Pops were driven out of business by jacked-up rents, and formely vibrant storefronts stood empty and dormant. Being a small business in NYC is tough to begin with. Today, almost six months after Covid-19 swept through our country and the world, we find ourselves in the humbled position of asking for your help. We don’t want to be another small-business casualty.
Since March, we have paid our rent, and up until June, we kept all of our employees on our payroll. Once we realized in midsummer that the city was going to remain shuttered for longer than we had anticipated, we had to let our small staff go. We are reopening our doors on Saturday, August 22nd, and while we remain hopeful, we fear that the months lost to lockdown will be too much for us to come back from. We rely heavily on foot traffic, and with tourism on hold and many of our customers temporarily or permanently leaving the city, we see an uncertain road ahead.
The money we are asking for will temporarily help us cover our overhead and allow us to hire employees back. We simply want the chance to stay in business long enough to ride out this storm into 2021, when, hopefully, we will see a vaccine and an adaptation to a “new” normal.
Our ability to stay in business means that we can continue to support our small independent vendors, provide jobs, and be that welcoming neighborhood place you can still count on. Any amount you can contribute is greatly and sincerely appreciated.
If you want to help us in other ways, please visit our storefront at 15 Christopher Street in the West Village, or shop online Greenwich Letterpress
Love,
Beth & Amy
Even before Covid-19 hit and temporarily shut us down in mid-March, our neighborhood had already been suffering from years of so-called high-rent blight, in which Mom & Pops were driven out of business by jacked-up rents, and formely vibrant storefronts stood empty and dormant. Being a small business in NYC is tough to begin with. Today, almost six months after Covid-19 swept through our country and the world, we find ourselves in the humbled position of asking for your help. We don’t want to be another small-business casualty.
Since March, we have paid our rent, and up until June, we kept all of our employees on our payroll. Once we realized in midsummer that the city was going to remain shuttered for longer than we had anticipated, we had to let our small staff go. We are reopening our doors on Saturday, August 22nd, and while we remain hopeful, we fear that the months lost to lockdown will be too much for us to come back from. We rely heavily on foot traffic, and with tourism on hold and many of our customers temporarily or permanently leaving the city, we see an uncertain road ahead.
The money we are asking for will temporarily help us cover our overhead and allow us to hire employees back. We simply want the chance to stay in business long enough to ride out this storm into 2021, when, hopefully, we will see a vaccine and an adaptation to a “new” normal.
Our ability to stay in business means that we can continue to support our small independent vendors, provide jobs, and be that welcoming neighborhood place you can still count on. Any amount you can contribute is greatly and sincerely appreciated.
If you want to help us in other ways, please visit our storefront at 15 Christopher Street in the West Village, or shop online Greenwich Letterpress
Love,
Beth & Amy