Greatest Gift Scripture store set to close after 70 years in Pueblo
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- A staple to Pueblo's Christian community is closing at the end of this year.
The Greatest Gift and Scripture Supply Store located near the intersection of 5th Street and Grand Avenue is closing at the end of this year.
Back in August, the store celebrated 70 years in Pueblo. Besides a Catholic centric supply store at the Midtown Shopping Center, Greatest Gift was Pueblo's only non-denominational scripture store.
Heather Trost, the Greatest Gift's owner, said their staff realized in October they would have to close shop at the end of this year.
“It was devastating to realize we had come to a place where there was just no place to go on,” said Trost.
Trost says the Christian community in pueblo isn’t losing faith. The store's owner states that a census of Pueblo shows that 36% of people in town say they are strongly religious.
"That's a pretty big number for a community of our size," says Trost.
Trost believes the true cause of her store's closure is the convenience of online shopping.
“Amazon, ChristianBook.com, and a lot of other places have a much greater buying power than an individual store does," said Trost. "The deals they are able to offer, they are selling for less than my wholesale cost.”
Customers that spoke to KRDO on Tuesday say they are devastated. Many say they would rather shop in a store than online.
"We are trusting that god will resurrect things somehow," said Rachael Heine, a loyal customer at Greatest Gift for 20 years. "What would be most greatly missed if this store closes is the sense of family and community that this little place serves.”
In the final days of the store, Trost says sales are on upswing.
"Weve had a really bad couple of Christmas’ the past 2 years very slow sales," said Trost. "This year we’ve heard more and more from people saying 'I’m going to buy everything here'."
Trost says the store has tentative plans to hold a sale on December 26.
There is a 'miracle-scenario' where the store could stay open if they sell off their stock in the store by the end of December and pay off their bills. Trost tells KRDO that it’s in Gods hands.
