Open Window Book and Gift Shop to close its doors this summer

Staff report

CHICOPEE – The Open Window Book and Gift Shop will be closing its Chicopee store in July, it was announced this week.

The decision by its parent group, the Catholic Communications Corporation (CCC), which also publishes The Catholic Observer, came after a yearlong review of the operations in Chicopee Center in light of the current sluggish economy and a continuing shift of consumers purchasing religious articles online and through national catalogue retailers.

“This was a difficult and painful decision,” said Mark E. Dupont, who, along with Sister of St. Joseph Catherine Homrok, is a co-director of CCC. The Open Window staff was informed of the decision at a June 16 meeting.

“The managers and staff have been fantastic,” Dupont said. “They have tried and explored various options to bring in more business, but the economy and retail trends away from small locally owned stores continued to hurt us.”

This is only the latest closing of a religious articles store. Young and Young in Springfield closed in 2002 and Emmanuel Catholic Gift Shop in South Hadley closed earlier this year.

Open Window co-managers Barbara McMahon and Barbara Moran say the decision, while understandable, leaves a significant void for many of their longtime customers, who came to the store because they wanted one-on-one personal attention. Moran, whose mother, Gertrude Britton, ran The Open Window for nearly 40 years, said this will be a real loss for the community.

“We never saw this as just a business. We always believed, dating back to our earliest days, that The Open Window was a form of ministry,” said Moran. “Our staff would spend time with each customer, and that’s the type of service that cannot be factored into a financial balance sheet.”

While the decision has been made to close the Chicopee location, the CCC Board of Directors has named a small study group to explore possible smaller venues that might financially sustain The Open Window, as well as Internet or other sales opportunities.
“We are trying to keep our future options open,” said Dupont. “We know there is a need, we just need to figure out a way to meet that need and break even.”

In the short term, the store will close the week of June 30 to conduct a thorough inventory and prepare for a stock liquidation sale.

Parish orders for the 2009 ordos, Mass record books and liturgical desk calendars will take place as normal, with those products being shipped later this year to the parishes that regularly get them through The Open Window.

As part of closing the Chicopee operation, The Open Window also has ended its retail relationship with Mercy Medical Center Gift Shop in Springfield.

The Open Window Book and Gift Shop was founded in Holyoke in 1935, an independent effort by Clare Dowd, and named the Catholic Lending Library. It eventually expanded from selling only books to include other Catholic religious articles.

In the 1960s Dowd retired and Gertrude Britton took over as manager. The store’s name was changed to The Open Window Book and Gift Shop after the Second Vatican Council and in homage to Blessed John XXIII, who encouraged the Catholic Church to open its windows and become a greater part of the society through education and spiritual enlightenment.

In 1983 The Open Window moved to its current location on the corner of Exchange and Center streets in Chicopee and in 2001 became part of the CCC.

The special stock liquidation sale will begin Monday, July 7 and will feature most store items being sold at 50 percent off marked prices.

A decision from the CCC study group on possible future venues to continue part of the store’s operations is expected in time for the late September board meeting.