Mayfair Print Shoppe & Office Supplies is now back open in their downtown location after relocating to the far west of town 9 months ago.

Every business has been affected by COVID-19 in some way or another, but for Mayfair Print Shoppe & Office Supplies, the difficulties have been exceptional.

While Mayfair owner Karen Giffin and her dedicated team maintained a strong front in the face of the pandemic, it was, unfortunately, not the only struggle that Mayfair had this year. Back in early January, their neighbouring business caught fire, leaving severe smoke damage to the store.

The smoke ruined almost everything, forcing Giffin to write off all of her stock and equipment, and pack up (what was left of) the store. While she waited for her downtown shop to be restored, the business relocated to the far west end of town for nearly 9 months. So, not only did the Mayfair team have to restock the entire store, they had to do it in the midst of a global pandemic.

Despite the chaos and frustration that resulted from the fire, Giffen says the team handled the new COVID-19 restrictions with a positive attitude. They have been committed to being both responsive and responsible, navigating the uncertainty with everyone’s safety in mind.

To help stop the spread, Giffin and her team frequently deep cleaned and sanitized the store, sourced Canadian owned and/or made PPE manufacturers, and stocked up on hand sanitizer, disinfectants, masks, gloves, face shields, sanitation stations, and social distancing graphics.

Giffin was also very supportive of staff who needed to stay home due to mandatory school and daycare shut downs, COVID testing, or isolation after travel, understanding that keeping the community safe is the top priority.

"Thankfully,” Giffin said, “We fell under the essential services sector when most businesses were shut down, but we still closed our store for walk-in traffic and operated with curbside pick-up only.”

Despite all the challenges that have come with the fire and the pandemic, Giffin says the customers "have been very understanding with the policies we had put in place. They were also very considerate of our situation due to the fire.”

However, Giffin found that running the business became much more difficult once customers shifted from supporting small, local businesses, to supporting online conglomerates instead: “I am sure we are not the only business in town that is feeling the grappling effects of online shopping,” said Giffin, “but it’s still discouraging that people continue to shop online while we’re still open and happy to help them find what they need.”

There have been many silver linings for Mayfair, though. The Roquette Pea Plant brought in a bunch of new-to-town contractors, which brought the Shoppe a ton of business that they otherwise wouldn’t have received. The temporary west-end location turned out to be a huge benefit, as well, as it was closer to the Pea Plant and has more space for storage, making it much easier for the contractors to pick up their big orders.

They’ve also seen an increase in sales on the printing side of things, as many businesses needed COVID signs or disposable menus and forms.

Having had time to settle in and get used to things, Giffin and her team have reflected on their situation: “We have learned a lot of hard lessons,” said Giffin. As did many businesses, Giffin had to completely change the way they run the business, and while it was in no way easy to do, it reminded her that running a business, especially amidst crises, truly takes a lot of hard work and dedication.