A BELOVED outlet for runners has suddenly closed its doors due to post-pandemic economic hardship.
The owners of the Massachusetts-based store posted a touching farewell on Facebook.
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“’We’re sorry…’ A truly genuine phrase, but totally useless. That doesn’t even begin to make up for all of our shortcomings, but that’s all we can say,” said the publish it started.
The runner store, 4Run3, was supposed to open in 2020 but had to delay the opening for months due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
Tim and Jill Murphy, the store’s owners, said that although the delay in opening affected them financially, they were still able to overcome these difficulties.
“We took out loans, built an online store and opened as soon as we could, even without the support of most of the big shoe brand,” they shared.
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“For a while there, we thought we could do it.”
Despite the initial optimism on the part of the owners, last year proved to be extremely challenging for business owners.
“Rising interest rates have resulted in monthly payments that exceed what we collect. High operating expenses, a large retail space, and backlog of bills finally caught up with us and brought us to where we are today,” they wrote.
“We lost everything financially.”
“Our home, our business, our everything. We are truly devastated.”
The devastated couple thanked the community for embracing their business and supporting them over the years.
“Your belief in us, your loyalty and your commitment to shopping local mean more to us than we could ever express.
“We are incredibly grateful for you and are so sorry for this disappointment.”
After thanking numerous community members, staff and other supporters, the heartfelt message sheds light on the shame and embarrassment that financial hardship can bring.
“Being financially broke is a terrible thing – the shame it brings with it is unimaginable.”
“But the loss of our relationships with this community is the biggest blow.”
The post ends with a final thank you to the running community and hope for the future to come.
“Our heads will be down and it will take us years and years to recover and restart our lives, but we will survive.”
Attached to the farewell message is a photo of Tim and Jill Murphy hugging in front of a 4Run3 sign.
More than 100 commenters expressed their sadness for the couple and all the joy the shopping and running community has brought them.
“It took a lot of courage to open your own retail store and you deserve a lot of credit for that,” wrote one community member.
“It hurts to let this go, but take care of yourselves – you will get through this. Thank you for everything you have given to the community.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
