When smoke and water damage from a fire destroyed the inventory of The Pro Shop of Newtown and rendered its retail space unusable, the outlook was grim for owner Kathleen McCafferty.
It was March of 2022, just two years after the pandemic threw a curveball at all small businesses, and The Pro Shop already had spent an additional month closed due to code issues related to the building's owner. In the blink of a fiery eye, “everything within the four walls of the shop was completely ruined.”
“I didn't know if I had it in me to reopen,” Kathleen recalls. “I was spent and a tad deflated. I was unsure of what would be next for me, the shop and my family.”
The shop had been in Kathleen's family for most of her life, though, since her mother opened it in 1986 and passed it onto her 14 years ago. Bottom line was that she just wasn’t ready to give up on it.
“I decided that wasn't going to be the way the shop went out,” she says. “So, I moved forward.”
The following months were a lesson in adapting. First, there were months of what Kathleen called a “full-time job” working with their insurance company. Then, when the original timeline of six to eight months for the space to reopen proved impossible, they pivoted to a new location just a block away, at 119 S. State Street. What was a temporary move at the time became a permanent relocation for the business.
“What I've learned from a business standpoint is that you need to make sure you are covered for everything, and I mean everything,” she states. “That was my biggest mistake.”
Kathleen says she made it her mission to ensure the new location was just as special as the first.
“My husband and I put a lot into the original shop to make it perfect,” she explains. “I had a nursery in the back for all three of my children. I wore the babies on my back while I helped customers, and they would hold them while I was ringing them up.”
She admits being a bit apprehensive about the move, but found her stride at the new location. “I wasn’t sure how it would feel to be on the next block, but it feels like home now,” she shares.
The support of the community has been a constant for Kathleen and her family on their difficult journey.
“At the shop, we've always done lots of different fundraisers for local charities and try to give back where and when we can,” she says. “I always felt that was an important thing to do on many levels. Who knew I would be one of the ones who needed help?”
“I couldn’t be more grateful to live in such a wonderful town,” Kathleen continues. “I consider myself and my family very lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people and community. That is such a great feeling that nothing, not even a fire, can take away.”
Kathleen and her family are excited for this new chapter for the business. “I look forward to staying in the community in a new business home on the street that I love, hopefully for many years to come,” she vows. “It's not just a job for me.”
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ProShopNewtown.com
Founded in 1986, The Pro Shop of Newtown started with a sole focus on all things tennis. For 24 years Carol Beahan brought popular pro stock brands/apparel to the region. In 2010, Carol's daughter, Kathleen, purchased the business and transformed it from tennis-exclusive to the fitness boutique it is today.