EASTHAMPTON — After 37 years on Main Street, Guild Art Supply has closed its doors in Northampton and moved its retail business to the Big Wheel Press location in Easthampton.
The process of leaving Northampton after nearly four decades downtown was “kind of like those degrees of grieving,” said Bill Muller, owner of Guild Art Supply and Big Wheel Press. But, he said, “I realized that the response to the COVID was just inadequate everywhere, and that Easthampton would work better.”
The Northampton location lacked adequate ventilation, Muller said, while in the Easthampton shop, located in Building 10 at One Cottage Street, “we have six giant windows facing the Nashawannuck Pond, and today and tomorrow we’re having ceiling fans installed so that in the winter we have proper ventilation.
“We feel that this is a really safe location to do business in,” Muller said. The shop began operating in Easthampton full time in mid-June. Muller will continue to operate Pierce’s Frameshop in Northampton through October, but that will eventually move to the Easthampton location as well.
Muller believes that Easthampton has done a better job educating people on social distancing measures such as keeping 6 feet apart, wearing masks and staying home, which contributed to the decision to move. On Main Street in Northampton, Muller said, he “would drive past the store, and 50% of the people walking past the store were not wearing masks.”
“I would not even feel safe walking to our site on Main Street” due to the number of people on the sidewalks who did not wear masks, Muller noted.
Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz said he is grateful for Muller’s “longtime investment into Northampton, and I’m glad to see that he’s staying nearby. We wish him well, and I’m glad that we’re not losing him as an art supplier in the Valley.”
But Narkewicz disagrees with Muller’s thoughts on how the city has managed the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think Northampton has been on the leading edge in terms of COVID-19,” Narkewicz said. “We’ve been out ahead of even the (state) government in some instances.”
The mayor said Northampton instituted a mandatory mask requirement in business settings before the state government made a similar order, and has required masks downtown since May. Easthampton, he pointed out, did not issue a mandatory mask requirement in its downtown until last week.
In addition to public safety concerns, Muller thinks that Northampton has not focused enough attention on supporting retail businesses downtown during the pandemic.
“We seem to be spending more energy on keeping the restaurants downtown happy, and I can understand that to the degree that City Hall has been promoting Northampton as an entertainment district,” Muller said. “But it’s also a matter where we created a situation where we have the equivalent of a single-crop downtown.”
But Narkewicz said that the city’s recent redesign of Main Street, intended to facilitate social distancing while allowing for increased foot traffic, supports all downtown businesses, and that the city has also made efforts to help businesses elsewhere in Northampton.
While some changes to downtown have included adding space for outdoor dining, Narkewicz said that facilitating a safer, more attractive downtown “supports retailers and restaurant owners alike.” Beginning earlier in the spring, the city has also provided small business grants to retailers, Narkewicz said.
Muller said he is not leaving Northampton because he is angry at the city, but he thinks that Easthampton feels like a better fit to safely conduct business at this time. Additionally, he said, the severely reduced number of college students and faculty in the area this fall will also hurt business.
“Those are our customers, and they’re not here right now,” Muller said.
Guild Art Supply currently offers curbside pickup services or shopping by appointment at its Easthampton location.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.