By Leyna Krow, Assistant Editor, JTNews
After almost 13 years in business, Tree of Life Judaica & Books is in danger of having to close its doors.
According to owner Emily Freedman, the store is two months behind on its rent and has also fallen behind on paying invoices from vendors. She estimates that Tree of Life needs to bring in a gross revenue of $25,000 over the next few weeks to catch up on back payments as well as similar figures through August in order to stay in business.
On July 1, Freedman sent out an e-mail to Tree of Life customers explaining the situation and encouraging them to help out by shopping at the Ravenna neighborhood store in the coming weeks.
“Thankfully, the community has already started responding to my call for help. I truly appreciate the many customers who have come shopping over the past few days,” Freedman wrote in an e-mail to JTNews.
Freedman added that she will know by July 31 whether or not the store can stay open through August.
Freedman cited several factors in Tree of Life’s financial struggles. As with many businesses both locally and nationally, Tree of Life has felt the effects of the recession. In addition, however, Freedman noted that the Internet, and, interestingly enough, the weather, have also played a role.
Over the past few years, more and more people have been going online to buy Judaica rather than going to actual stores. Freedman believes that Amazon.com’s free shipping offer has been particularly hurtful to her business.
With less money coming into Tree of Life, Freedman has recently become unable to purchase new inventory. The result is even more customers turning to the Internet when they can’t find what they want at Tree of Life.
“Because I cannot afford to make new purchases, I am caught in a vicious cycle: People come to the store, do not find the merchandise they want, and go to the Internet to make their purchases,” Freedman wrote.
She added, however, that many customers still prefer shopping at an actual store and would continue to do so if Tree of Life could remain open.
“Tree of Life offers a unique opportunity to see, feel and touch before buying. Our customers also benefit from the advice of our staff,” she wrote.
Along with selling Jewish books, gifts and ritual items, Freedman and her staff have also strived to make Tree of Life a community gathering place, hosting a variety of events over the years, including kosher wine tastings and author readings.
But in some instances, even the most strident supporters of local business have opted to purchase their Judaica over the Internet when getting to Tree of Life was not an option. Many potential customers went online to do their Hanukkah shopping in December when snowstorms made driving to local retail establishments difficult. Since Hanukkah has historically been the biggest time of the year for Tree of Life, the lost business came as a major blow to the store’s financial health. The shop also suffered during the storms in December 2006.
In December 2007, Tree of Life closed its downtown Bellevue location, which had been open for a little more than three years. Freedman cited similar reasons for the failure of that store as well. Another Judaica store, Magneev, was located in the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island and focused more on fine art. That store also closed in 2007.
Tree of Life is the Seattle area’s only Judaica shop not affiliated with a synagogue. Five part-time employees would lose their jobs if the store were to shut down.