Admin writes "Guardian Angel Store Press Release:
A Christian gift and book store may be forced out of business over a marijuana shop. The Guardian Angel Store, along with several other stores in the Park Place Plaza shopping center at the intersection of Union and Academy Blvd in Colorado Springs, CO, was a recent recipient of a boycott letter. The letter was allegedly mailed by a local resident to express concern over undesirable businesses starting to populate the shopping plaza.
The letter expressed that the community is boycotting the businesses in the shopping center due to the recent opening of a marijuana shop along with the continued operations of a controversial coffee shop where customers are served by girls in bikinis. The letter stated, “The residents in this neighborhood are not pleased with the changes that have been made in your shopping center.” The letter continued, “Not all, but many of us have had discussions about the center and are unhappy that you have chosen to turn our once friendly neighborhood into a place for girls without clothes and a marijuana pickup. We feel that this is degrading to the entire area.”
The letter writer asked, “Have you noticed a decline in sales? It is not all due to the economy. Many of us have decided to boycott the center until you clean it up.” The writer expressed, “We hope that you will talk with your property owner and let them know of our dislike of the changes and that we will continue to boycott until you make things right. It is not our hope that you have hard times, but we love our neighborhood and want it to be a healthy one and not contaminated by porn and drugs.”
The Guardian Angel Store, a Christian gift and book store near the marijuana shop, is one of the targets of the boycott. The Guardian Angel Store General Manager, Stephanie Bonebrake, confirmed the decline in customer traffic since the opening of the controversial businesses in the shopping center. “We normally see an annual surge in sales beginning in September, but it is as if we are still in the summer doldrums,” she said. Bonebrake continued, “We certainly empathize with our customers, but we are also disappointed that the anger is directed against us and not the source of the issue.”
In response to the impact of the boycott, the Guardian Angel Store General Manager related, “We have an investor who is attempting to cover our losses because he believes in what we do, not as a business, but as a ministry. He wants to try to keep the store open because of what he calls, 'The stories of the store.' These stories are generated by those who walk through the doors with questions or who are experiencing life events. They find answers in our books and are able to share their beliefs and values through gifts. If the boycott robs us of our Christmas season, however, even with the resources of our investor, we will be faced with some very difficult decisions.”
Bonebrake commented, “We still see the people to which the store is a ministry, but the customers who keep us alive through what they purchase for themselves, family and friends are no longer coming by. We understand why, but, none-the-less, without their support, we will not survive.”
In response to the effectiveness of boycotts, Bonebrake replied, “Boycotts can be very effective, if directed at the right people. If not, only the innocent get hurt. For example, we are doing our best to keep all of our employees on board, but we have heard rumors of layoffs in other businesses in the center. Neither the small business owners or the employees who are getting hurt have had any choice in this matter.” She continues, “The bottom line is that communities retain the businesses they are willing to support. If no one walks through the doors of a marijuana shop, it is gone. If no one drives up to a bikini barista coffee shop, it is gone. Ironically, the community is choosing to take their anger out on a Christian gift and book store. If the boycott continues to target us, we too will be gone; and who knows what will replace us.”
The Guardian Angel Store is an ecumenical Christian gift and book store seeking to provide Catholics, Protestants and those curious about the Christian faith with bibles, Christian books, faith media and gifts through which friends and family can celebrate and share their beliefs and values.
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