Tom and Cindy Hollander, who already own Hollander’s paper goods emporium on the first floor of Kerrytown’s Godfrey Building, and Hollander’s School of Book & Paper Arts in the basement below it, are expanding upstairs with Hollander’s Kitchen & Home.
The Hollanders never planned to open a kitchen store; it’s just worked out that way. Mary Campbell, who owns Everyday Wine, opened an ill-fated cookware store in the same space in late 2006 and morphed it into a restaurant in 2007 before calling it quits last summer. Cindy says she and Tom used to joke about opening their own kitchen store there “because it’s right above us. And [Kerrytown] management said, ‘Well, why don’t you take the space?’ And I kind of kiddingly said, ‘Well, make us an offer.’ It was just kind of all kidding around—but then we just suddenly started taking it seriously.”
The grand opening is planned for May 2 and 3, but they started business in April, selling cookware, high-end small appliances, and all kinds of kitchen utensils, plus glass-ware, dishware, tablecloths, towels, aprons, and more. The “Home” part of the name covers furnishings like occasional chairs, end tables, lamps, mirrors, clocks, artwork, and area rugs. They’ll also have a garden section with patio furniture and accessories, along with a smattering of hardware from screwdrivers to wall fasteners. And that gorgeous kitchen that Campbell installed in the back won’t go to waste—the Hollanders plan to host cooking classes starting next fall.
Tom thinks the new business dovetails nicely with the old one. “A lot of people who shop at our store are creative people,” he says. “They like to take classes, like to work with their hands. And we feel like the kitchen area we’re getting into kind of has that same feel.”
They’ve reopened a long-closed central stairway so customers can move between floors without having to leave the store. “That’s kind of important to us so that it doesn’t feel like two completely different stores,” says Tom.
It’s heady growth for a business that started out in 1991 selling handcrafted boxes and desk accessories in a 200-square-foot corner of Kerrytown’s second floor. With the latest expansion, the Hollanders have 14,000 square feet spread over three floors.
Cindy still seems a little poleaxed by the leap they’ve taken, but says, “We’ve kind of always grown our business like that. We’re kind of organic. If we see an opening, we go for it. We like to keep moving forward. We’re not going to do something crazy. This is probably about as crazy as we want to be.”
Hollander’s Kitchen & Home, 415 North Fifth Avenue (Kerrytown Market & Shops, second floor). 226–1885. Mon.–Fri. 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–6 p.m. www. hollanders.com.
