The Future of Fifth & Cherry®
It’s been a few weeks since my last post and oh how the world has changed! As I do with the stock markets and did as a pilot in the Marine Corps, I’ve just been taking it all in; watching the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has already impacted so many facets of our lives.
I have a lot of thoughts about the direction I see retail/consumer businesses heading, but I’ll save those for future posts. Today I want to provide an update on Fifth & Cherry®.
The COVID-19 crisis has affected everyone. Fifth & Cherry® is no exception.
Many of you may know that while our HQ/primary distribution center is in North Texas, our family-owned manufacturing facility is located in Reading, PA. While the Fifth & Cherry® brand is new, our family has been manufacturing custom kitchens and other wood products (including cutting boards) for almost 40 years.
Last week we received the order to shut down the shop in PA. Whatever part we can play in helping to stop the spread of the virus, of course, we will absolutely do. The safety and well-being of the craftspeople and our community are always paramount.
Our team in PA is why we’re allowed to exist. It’s their hard work, dedication and exacting standards that have kept the shop open so long and have allowed Tanya and I to launch and grow the Fifth & Cherry® brand. The quality and craftsmanship they produce every day allowed us to sell more boards in the first two months of 2020 than we did in all of 2019. They’re amazing people and we’re blessed to call them our co-workers and family.
If there is anything my parents have taught me about starting and operating a business for 40 years, is that every day, every week, every month is a battle for survival. Today is no different! Tanya and I have fought to build Fifth & Cherry® and now is not the time to throw in the towel; and fortunately, we don’t have to.
We do have an inventory of our 14” and 18” boards in Texas and will continue to serve our online customers from here as long as we have inventory. We would also love to build a list of back-orders so that when the shop reopens, we can immediately give our co-workers overtime to help ease any financial hardship they may endure during this mandatory closure.
If you have a gifting occasion coming up, we would appreciate your consideration. All of our boards ship direct for free.
Tanya and I are blessed as a business and as a family to be in a position to wait this pandemic out. We are conservative with our spending and run lean. Even if we do not have a single sale between now and when the shop reopens, the shop will reopen and we will welcome all of our co-workers back.
To see the world’s only handmade, steel-reinforced, refinished for life for free, end grain cherry cutting boards, please click https://fifthandcherry.com/pages/about
Friends of Fifth and Cherry®, we love you! Your continued support means the world to us.