Welcome Home Chestertown 

Store Closing, December 31

After careful consideration, we are closing Welcome Home Chestertown, effective January 1, 2023. We want to thank our family, friends, and community for supporting this wonderful business for almost 6 years. Chester River Wine & Cheese, Welcome Home Annapolis, and welcomehomemarkets.com will remain open.

As many of you know, running a small business is not easy, requiring a commitment of financial capital, time, and effort.  Running two stores in Chestertown even more so. The timing of this decision coincides with the expiration of our lease on December 31 and our personal desire to focus our work in Chestertown on Chester River Wine & Cheese.    

As we move forward, we will contract select inventory and offerings from Welcome Home into Chester River Wine & Cheese. Sound familiar? It’s very “five years ago.”

We have been very fortunate to collaborate with an incredible team who’ve helped keep our business open from the early phases of the pandemic, through Omicron, and our expansion into Annapolis. We could not have accomplished any of this without everyone’s support.

We believe that Chestertown is an incredible place to do business - and space to open a business is hard to find. We’re excited to give another small business owner the opportunity to create their dream in a wonderful space on Cross Street.

Thank you for your support, mentorship, friendship, and business.

With appreciation,

Jenn & John

info@chesterivergourmet.com

______________

A few questions we’ve been asked…

1. Why are you closing Welcome Home Chestertown December 31? 
1. Our lease expires December 31. As we thought about the future of our business and the optimal operating model for our stores, we want to consolidate into a single location - Chester River Wine & Cheese. 
2. I have a Welcome Home Gift Card, can I use it after January 1? Yes!
1. Our gift cards expire 4 years from the date of purchase.
2. If your gift card has both a Chester River Wine & Cheese logo and a Welcome Home logo, you can use it in the wine & cheese shop, or we can convert it to a newer gift card that will allow you to shop on our website, or in our Annapolis store.
3. If you have a gift card that only features the Welcome Home logo, we are happy to convert it to a Chester River Wine & Cheese gift card. Please contact us at info@chesterrivergourmet.com before December 31 and we will assist you.
4. Please note, we need your physical gift card to make any changes. All current policies and expiration dates apply.
3. Are you having a store closing sale? Sort of.
1. We will offer a series of broad discounts across the store during the holiday season. We will offer select items and brands at clearance pricing, up to 40% off, between Thanksgiving and the New Year. The majority of our inventory will shift to Chester River Wine & Cheese and Welcome Home Annapolis. 
4. Will your inventory change during this period? Yes.
1. During the month of December, we may start to shift inventory from one store to the other as we “run low” in our other store. Our team in Chestertown still has access to transfer special requests from Annapolis to Chestertown. Kindly, we ask for payment prior to making transfers due to the opportunity cost of an item being pulled from our shelves. 
5. Are there any changes to your store policies? Yes.
1. We will only hold unpaid items for 24 hours.
2. Due to the broad sales we will offer as we prepare to close the store, receipts are required for all returns or exchanges.
3. All sales are final after December 16. For purchases made prior to December 16, our 15 day return period still applies.
4. We will not process any returns or exchanges for items purchased in Welcome Home Chestertown after  December 31.
6. Are your store hours changing? Not at this time.
1. We are open Sunday & Tuesday, 11-4. Wednesday - Saturday, 10-5. Closed Monday. Our hours may change based on staffing availability.
7. Is your storefront at 107 S. Cross Street available?
1. The owner of the building has plans for the space.
8. Are you closing Chester River Wine & Cheese? Nope.
1. Absolutely not. The wine & cheese shop is the backbone of our business and dear to our heart. 
9. Are you leaving Chestertown? Absolutely not.
1. No. We are very fortunate to have a beautiful home here in Chestertown.