Lummi Island community raises funds for local store after coronavirus sales slump
Brad O’Malley was reluctant at first to accept help to keep open The Islander Store on Lummi Island. “I felt funny about it at first, taking help from outside strangers, but at this point, we’re kind of at the end of my rope because the banks aren’t helping us much and nobody’s going to pick up lost revenue.”
Brad and Deborah O’Malley have owned The Islander store since 1989. But without the normal summer revenue flowing in during COVID-19 closures, Brad O’Malley said the store won’t be able to stay open this winter.
The Islander Store, on South Nugent Road, offers “groceries, snacks, wine and beer, movie rentals, and local conversation,” according to its website. It’s the only general store on the island and without it, residents would have to take a ferry for groceries, a two-hour round trip.
Sales for May were down 40%, leading to a $10,000 deficit that Brad O’Malley says the store may not recover from.
“At this point, unless there’s a miracle, I don’t think we’re going to get into Phase 3 or 4 fast enough to recover summer business,” Brad O’Malley said. “I think sales are going to be down for the summer months, especially July and August, will be down 30%, 40% or 50% from a year ago.
“I only have about two months to make any major money to carry us through the winter. I can get through probably September without funds, but its October through next March, that’s where I usually use the money that we make in the summer to carry us through. If that’s not there, then I don’t know what we’re going to do at this point.”
Islander fans are trying to help with a GoFundMe account started by Lummi Island resident Tim Hodgson. It raised $10,000 in the first two days, Hodgson wrote on the campaign page. On Tuesday, June 16, it had raised more than $21,000 on the way to its goal of $85,000.
“Our goal is to bridge the gap and finish the summer strong. What that requires is to erase the debt incurred to date and supplement the slow summer sales to build up a surplus to carry the store through the winter,” Hodgson wrote on the campaign page.
If the Islander closes its doors, Hodgson wrote, Deborah O’Malley said the zoning on the land reverts from commercial to residential, which would take away a potential space for another business to take its place.
When they first heard about the fundraiser, the O’Malleys were reluctant to accept donations, but they conceded that it is probably the only way to stay open.
“I don’t think I could borrow money anywhere else I can think of. We were thinking about selling our house and moving into a mobile home. That would cut our overall expenses down by a bit as a last resort,” Brad O’Malley said.
He said he has felt the impact of the generosity.
“It’s pretty heartwarming. It makes me want to burst into tears actually,” he said. “After all these years and helping these people in bad weather and the worst of times. It’s nice to see the appreciation and know that all our hard work wasn’t for naught.
“We’ll try to keep the store open no matter what, because, I can’t afford not to have a job at this point in my life. I’m 60 years old, so it’s not like I’m gonna go out there and find another high-paying job at this point.
“I just wish everybody well in this terrible economy. This is gonna be a struggle for everyone and we’ll continue to help everybody we can.”