Newsflash : The HoneyBaked Ham Company does n’t just sell hams , and the Christmas Tree Shops does n’t just deal Christmas tree diagram . If you have a hankering to buy a joker sandwich at the former and a bottle of sunscreen at the latter , well , you ’re in fortune ! Yes , it ’s a crazy , mixed - up world we ’re live in these daylight , but that ’s the cold-blooded , hard reality of it . ( Interestingly enough , youcanbuy a veridical ham at the HoneyBaked Ham Company but youcannotbuy a real Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree at the Christmas Tree Shops . )
Since its originalfoundingas The Christmas Tree Gift Shop in the 1950s in the sleepyheaded Cape Cod town of Yarmouth Port , Massachusetts , Christmas Tree Shopshas grow from one modest locating to more than 70 outposts in 21 states nationwide . So since it ’s that clip of year again , why not get into the vacation spirit with some facts about everybody ’s favorite Christmas - themed ( but not really ) settlement release . Plus : We ’re proceed to give you seven facts for the toll of five . “ Do n’t you just love a deal ? ”
1. THERE’S A SIMPLE REASON WHY IT’S “SHOPS” AND NOT “SHOP.”
The Christmas Tree Gift Shop ( as it was originally called ) wasfoundedby couple Mark and Alice Matthews in the fifties in a barn in Yarmouth Port , Massachusetts . The business was purchased in 1970 by Chuck and Doreen Bilezikian , who converted the original storehouse into three , separate space : The Barn Shop , The Front Shop , and The Back Shop . Which is how " Shop " turn into " Shops . " See ? It make perfect sense !
2. IT WAS ORIGINALLY JUST ABOUT CHRISTMAS.
For the novice shopper , " Christmas Tree Shops " bring to mind sentiment of wreaths and jingle bells , not suntan program and lawn chairs . In the 1950s , before the Bilezikians buy the store , one would have been correct . in the beginning The Christmas Tree Gift Shop was exclusively about Christmas . It was only open May through October and sold strictly Christmas gifts and ornaments to summer tourer .
3. IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT CHRISTMAS ANYMORE.
Once the Bilezikians purchased the store , they had far greater breathing in than just sell stocking stuffers and Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ornament . They sour the storage into a year - round elimination wall socket selling everything from home interior decoration to beach umbrellas to a 26 - man flashlight countersink for $ 3.99 . Of course you could still get your fill of stocking stuffers . Immense popularity and winner ram the Bilezikians to apace spread out . They construct their first Shops outside of Cape Cod in 1981 and by the time they sell their conglomerate to Bed Bath & Beyond in 2003 , they had accumulate 23 locations .
4. THEY HAD A BRANDING PROBLEM.
In 2003 , Bed Bath & Beyond spent $ 200 million topurchaseChristmas Tree Shops and start a speedy expansion of the bargain chain . But BB&B quickly realized that they had an prototype trouble : They determined that customer seemed to consociate the Christmas Tree Shops only with , wait for it , Christmas ! In an endeavor to make it clear to would - be client that this was far from the case , in 2013 they begin rename their new storesChristmas Tree Shops andThat ! , or , just andThat !
5. THE OWNERS LIVED RIGHT ABOVE THE ORIGINAL SHOP.
When then Bilezikians first bought the store , they actually lived in an apartment above it ! “ On Friday nights — because everything was so geared to the weekend — we would put the kids in pj’s , go downstairs , and buy in the store , ” Doreenrecalled . " We produce up in it , ” the Bilezikians ' eldest son , Greg , toldthe Massachusetts Institute of Business . “ That was our life . I remember stocking shelves in our pajama . ”
6. CHUCK BILEZIKIAN HAD A GREAT MEMORY.
Chuck was have it away for being very close to his employee and for remembering intimate details about all of them , even after the Shops expanded and his stave grew importantly . “ He would walk over to an employee and say , ‘ Hi , Mary . How are you ? How ’s your son John ? Is he still have problems with math ? " Ed Mullin , a fellowship administrator for many years , saidof his former boss , who go past away in 2016 .
" When we had a few stores , he did it , and when we had a circle of stores , he did it , " Mullin conintued . " He just had that lovemaking of people . He would lock in conversation with his employee , and it was n’t just a thing to do . He enjoy it , and he remember them . You ca n’t put a value on that . ”
7. THE ORIGINAL STORE IS STILL IN THE BILEZIKIAN FAMILY’S POSSESSION.
When Bed , Bath & Beyond purchased the company , they did n’t need to take possession of all the retail location . One store that they were n’t interested in acquiring was the Yarmouth Port barn where it all begin . When attempts to recover a novel tenant for the store were unsuccessful , Greg Bilezikian decided to follow in his parents ' footsteps and open up a story of his own , calledJust Picked Gifts , in the original Christmas Tree Shops ’s location .
