Bay Area’s beloved sticker company Mrs. Grossman’s Paper Company has been serving in the region for over 40 years, but it is now transferring out of the state, ABC7 reported.
For about 30 years, the company had its warehouse in Petaluma which became a favorite tourist site for children.
The once colorful and bustling warehouse was left empty and quiet on Wednesday.
Mrs. Grossman’s company said it is cutting down on operations and moving to Utah.
Company owner and President Jason Grossman said that the closure saddens them. “I mean, we’ve been an institution here forever,” he told ABC7 News.
The original Mrs. Grossman, Andrea Grossman, is Jason’s mother. She founded the company in 1979.
The already-struggling company, which was in tight competition with China’s cheaper sticker, faced a final blow during the pandemic.
“The pandemic changed things,” Jason said. “I just found moving out of this state easier for business and I need everything easier now, I’m getting old.”
The pandemic has impacted the stores they used to supply stickers to, and they got lesser sales from them.
Now, Mrs. Grossman’s will just sell their paper products through the internet.
The transfer does not only sadden owners but also customers, like Michelle Leopold.
“We were one of Andrea Grossman’s very first customers,” Leopold, Standard 5&10 Ace owner, told ABC7 News. “We are very sad to see Mrs. Grossman’s go.”
Her father-in-law can recall how Andrea used to sell the red heart sticker, her very first product, to their store in 1979.
“She came into the store with a roll of, I believe, heart-shaped stickers and said, ‘Ok, here’s a crazy new product. Do you have interest in selling this at the 5&10?” Leopold said. “And my father-in-law, who also took chances with BIC pens and hula hoops, said, ‘Yeah, let’s give it a try.'”
Jason said that since then, they have made stickers that reach even outside the county.
“We’ve touched a lot of lives with a silly little sticker,” Jason said. “It’s amazing how much it attracts people and how much they love it and adore it.”
