GREENFIELD — It isn’t every day that a store’s online shop precedes its brick-and-mortar one.
But in the case of Plum — a clothing, accessories and art boutique that officially opened its doors on Main Street this week — that’s exactly what happened.
Owner Tim Fisk said it was never the plan for him and General Manager Heidi Weeks to focus their efforts first on the online side of the business.
“When we were first thinking about this, my thought was, ‘Let’s hurry up and get the store open, and then we’ll work on the online store,’” he recalled.
But with the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the closure of all non-essential businesses, including retail establishments like Plum, Fisk and Weeks — who he described as the brainchild behind the boutique — had to rethink their approach.
“The online (business) was … the new frontier for us, so it pushed us over that hump,” Fisk said.
The online store (plum413.com) launched on May 1, in the middle of the shutdown. Fisk said they planned to open the shop on April 1, but the delay in opening the brick-and-mortar storefront gave them extra time to do more renovations and be more artistic with the window design.
“On the negative side, we’re now in a very unsure climate,” Fisk said.
Fisk said Plum, located at 281 Main St., helps to fill a gap left when Wilson’s Department Store closed.
“There’s a huge gap in the retail market of Greenfield,” he explained.
The opening of Plum on Monday coincided with the first day retail establishments could reopen their doors as part of the second phase of Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan for Massachusetts. As such, retail establishments have a number of restrictions and guidelines to follow.
“At some point, we have to adjust to our new normal, whatever that is for each individual person,” Fisk said.
He said the shop has a sanitization station up front for customers to use before they enter the store, which has been configured for a one-way browsing experience. Dressings rooms are closed, and masks will be required of anyone in the store.
Based on the size of the store, only eight people — including Fisk or Weeks — will be allowed in at one time.
“One thing we’re doing for people is we are scheduling some times outside of our regular business hours for people to come in and browse the store, especially if they’re really concerned about being in public,” he said.
Fisk said he and Weeks have considered making that a part of their business model, even after the pandemic subsides.
“This has been a journey for everybody,” Fisk said. “For me, I am more excited, determined and hopeful than ever about downtown Greenfield, and Plum, in particular.”
Plum is open Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 413-475-3518 or visit plum413.com
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne