GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — “When we first were shut down in the beginning of this in the spring, I assumed it would be for a weekend or a week, not two months.”
Such are the memories of the owner of Earth’s Edge, 705 S. Beacon Boulevard, Grand Haven, of the early weeks of the pandemic. Nearly a year after it all began, Karl Tucker says, “You just shift gears and work harder.”
The store, whose selection of outdoor equipment, apparel and accessories rivals that of any big box store, found that curbside pickup worked for some items and not for others.
And without foot traffic, how do people find out what’s in the store? “You have to get very creative as far as doing social media,” Tucker remarks, “walking through what's available and showing people on social media, and then throughout our internet, showing people what we have and what's available.”
A new web site helps. “We actually relaunched a new site in September, which has done very well.”
It also helps to be known in the community for 26 years. Small businesses rely on neighbors and community,” Tucker notes. “We're not marketing to a national audience … but to the community, and the people around you make a huge difference. We've been pretty fortunate that people have supported us.”
So Earth’s Edge will still be around to, as Tucker puts it, provide “anything to get you outdoors, keep you outdoors.”