“Calvert Woodley will temporarily close for all business starting this Saturday, April 4th, at 5:00pm.”

4339 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Thanks to Judith for passing on from my beloved Calvert Woodley:

“I am sending out this email to inform you that Calvert Woodley will temporarily close for all business starting this Saturday, April 4th, at 5:00pm.

That means no online orders, no phone calls, no customers in the store, no employees in the store. It also means online ordering has been disabled, effective immediately. I know this will anger some, and I apologize for that, but there’s no way to handle the many orders we currently have and take more new orders, and still close by Saturday at 5:00pm.

The point of this notice is also to let you know you can pick up your pre-existing orders from the last few days. To handle the rush we will be available the next two days from 10:00am – 5:00pm. If you can’t make it in before Saturday night, or don’t want to, we will hold all orders as we normally do, for as long as you’d like.

How long will CW be closed?

I’m not entirely sure at this point, but April 20th is the first we would re-open, and quite possibly even later. Updates will come via email and messages on calvertwoodley.com when I know more.

Why?
SAFETY. In many ways, this is a very difficult decision. In terms of safety, both for now and down the road, it’s not difficult at all. The projected peak for COVID-19 cases in our area, from what I’ve read, is sometime in the next few weeks.

I fully understand that many small businesses are struggling these days and that many would love to be in our shoes, open and still busy. I don’t take anything for granted, and despite what could be an extended period of good sales and financial gain, I feel this is the right thing to do for the 48 members of the CW family. There are so many specific reasons, and you can keep reading below to see some of my thoughts, but it’s really as simple as feeling like it’s the right thing to do for the safety and well-being of everyone at CW. It may not be the right decision for every wine and liquor store, or any business for that matter, and it might not be a decision that makes our customers happy (something that goes against everything we’ve ever done at CW), but this is the decision I have made.

Our crew has been working very hard these last few weeks, and while we’ve closed the doors to customers and taken as many precautions as we can, I want to provide them with the ability to stay home like so many people in the US are doing. The hope is that this, in turn, will make it safer for them and their family, which in turn makes it safer for our customers, the DMV area, and maybe even the country as a whole. Given how this has traveled from China to Europe to here in the US, it’s not too much of a stretch. If everyone follows the stay-at-home guidelines we’ll all be better in the long run, and we can all resume our normal lives sooner.

I want to be very clear on four important points:
1 – we’re not closing for good, I promise
2 – we’re not being forced to close, by anyone
3 – we’re not closing because one of our employees has tested positive for COVID-19
4 – every CW employee will stay employed and receive their regular paychecks

My dad started Woodley in 1966 and merged with Calvert to form Calvert Woodley in 1982, so CW has been in our family for 54 years. My dad just retired on December 31st and while this is not exactly how I saw the first few months going, we are where we are. The decision to close for something like a snow day — or open a few hours late or close a few hours early — can be an agonizing decision, factoring in the street conditions, the status of public transportation, and of course the safety of our employees and customers. Closing the store for two weeks, and possibly three or four (or more), is a whole different ballgame. It’s not a decision I ever expected to be faced with, and not one I came to lightly. By the way, I offered my dad the store back but he respectfully declined!

We’ve been focused on making our customers happy for over 50 years. In my 22 years at CW I’ve gotten to know so many wonderful people, becoming friends with many. I know that a lot of people are thrilled that we’ve stayed open these past few weeks, and that DC has deemed us an essential business. The number of positive messages I have received in the last few weeks related to this has been overwhelming, and touching. Knowing this, I don’t relish the thought of taking the focus off our customers’ needs, but in this unique time I feel it’s the right thing to do.

I hope you stay safe and healthy, and please know that everyone at CW looks forward to seeing you very soon.

Take care,
Michael Sands
Owner”