A Little History and an Explanation

We're so excited about this blog! I have so many friends who've created some awesome blogs in the past few months (I'll link them just as soon as I figure this all out) and I've felt seriously out of the loop due to my lack of one.....now we can join the cadre.

Let me give you some background on our store. Back in 1923, Scott's grandad founded Webster's, a pharmacy located on North Lake Ave. in beautiful Altadena, CA. Back then, Henry Ford used to test his cars in the street in front of the store, a trolley system brought people to the area and Market Basket's first store was across the street. There's a lot of history packed into this neighborhood....along with some gorgeous examples of architecture, residential and commercial. Grandad (Harold "Frank" Webster) passed away when my father-in-law, William Webster, was 19 and Bill ran it from then on, taking time out only for military service. Though the years, Bill expanded and the little pharmacy became a complex of interconnected stores.....the pharmacy, a liquor store, a stationery and office products store, a Hallmark Gold Crown, a video rental store, a scrapbooking store and a UPS/FedEx authorized shipping outlet all had a home here. The video store couldn't take the competition from on-line outfits such as NetFlix, so that's gone now. The scrapbooking store was moved into the Hallmark store and shipping moved down to the Stationery store.....all in preparation for Bill's retirement. To facilitate this, two of the stores were sold to family members.....Scott and I were lucky enough to be able and willing to buy the Stationery store this past October.

Taking on an existing store, let alone one with this much history attached to it, is a daunting task. Making changes when people are used to it being a certain way is also an uphill battle, as we learn daily. Our challenge was this: create a "new" look without seriously changing the product mix and bring in new items that freshen and uplift the store's image. Early on this past summer, before we took ownership, the two stores at the south end of the complex....the Stationery and Hallmark stores....were separated by new walls between them. No formal explanation was given to the store's customers and for that we're heartily sorry. In retrospect, had the store let people know what was going on, there wouldn't have been such a resistance to the changes. By this blog, I hope to rectify this lack of communication and let everyone know what lies in store (ha ha) for Webster's Fine Stationers. Check back with us soon as we continue our story......