89.1 WEMU

Owners Of Ann Arbor Paper Goods Store Say Goodbye After Shutting Down Early Due To Pandemic

Jul 21, 2020

CIndy and Tom Hollander
Credit Hollander's / hollanders.com

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 Upstairs Store in Kerrytown.
Credit Hollander's / hollanders.com

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.

Hollander's School of Book and Paper Arts.
Credit Hollander's / hollanders.com

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.


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