Fire Buffs Bounce Back: Transitioning from Storefronters to Online
- Andy Robson
- Sep 11, 2015
- 2 min read
One of our most beloved ‘mom & pop’ stores was The Firestore at 17 Greenwich Avenue. Owned and operated by Noam Freedman and Annie Starrs Freedman, The Firestore was a favorite of first responders in NYC and all over the world. Whether you wanted a patch, or a t-shirt from your favorite Squad, these firebugs live and breathe the world of fire, police, EMT and other first responders.
A second generation ‘Mom and Popper’, Noam grew up working for his parents with his sister at the New York Firefighters Friend on Layfayette Street. Opened in 1991, the entire space was under 300 square feet, with much of the shelving and storage built lovingly from scratch. The business kept growing, and in 1997 they expanded next door and opened the Cop Shop and New York 911. The first responder community loved the stores, and with the tragedy of 9/11 bringing the support of this community to a global stage, The Firestore expanded to 17 Greenwich Avenue.
More than a store, Annie & Noam created a loving, warm community, where customers and other fire buffs could enjoy a cup of coffee, leave their bags while they went sightseeing and just hang around and talk about the unique joys, horrors and moments that make members of the first responder community more than just brothers and sisters, but a family.
While the closing of the store in the summer of 2015 seemed like a sudden and devastating development, the end for The Firestore started five years ago with the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital up the street. And that was just the beginning. As the target revenues kept being more elusive, the ensuing years brought the perfect storm for retail store closure; construction in the street in front of the store, a sewage line backup in to the basement, and then the final blow--the building was wrapped in scaffolding.
As the number of people who purchased in the shop dwindled, the website and on-line community was growing exponentially, keeping Annie and Noam busy learning and deploying a new skill set - online eCommerce. The NYFirestore.com had it’s hands full shipping orders to a new community of global first responders, who not only have friends and family first responders in NYC, but also want to support the resurgence of the 'First Responder' – great American hero’s who risk their lives to save others.
Noam and Annie continue to support the first responder community and their global customer base from their newly revamped website NYFirestore.com managing a full suite of social media tools from Facebook advertising, Google analytics, Twitter followers and Instagram photos firebugs love. While in a perfect world these mom and pop storefronters would love to open and hosting their community in person, they are adapting to their new normal and working full time to manage and support their online community with the same warm and loving care.
September 11th this year was particularly difficult. All of us in NYC and throughout the world mourn the lives of the people and the places that have meet their demise, yet we also salute the community, camaraderie, open-hearted grieving that will assure we will never forget, and together we will find new joys as we rush to embrace the future.
