The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to close their doors, and while it wasn’t the sole reason, it certainly contributed to Orchard Skateshop’s temporary shutdown. After more than a decade as a cornerstone of the Boston skate scene, Orchard faced a lease dispute and the chaos of 2020, forcing them to transition to an online-only model. This meant moving their entire inventory and years of accumulated memorabilia into a warehouse, abandoning the physical retail space that local skaters had grown to love. However, Orchard has now made a triumphant return with a new physical location, marking a new chapter for this iconic skate shop.
They’ve strategically located their new shop in a prime area, close to popular spots and tourist attractions. To celebrate their grand reopening, Orchard released a new promo clip introducing their latest team riders, Zak Papastoris and Connor Noll. We spoke with Armin Bachman, the owner, and Zak Papastoris, the shop manager, to discuss the challenges they faced during the lockdown, and their vision for Orchard moving forward. This is a story of resilience and the enduring passion for skateboarding that kept them going.
The Shutdown and the Pivot
Can you explain what happened to the old shop?
Armin Bachman (AB): About a week before Christmas in 2019, we learned that our landlord wouldn’t be renewing our lease. We brought Pat Donfro on board in January to handle back-of-house tasks so I could focus on finding a new location. Then, the pandemic hit, and we had to move everything out. Tearing down the bowl was a whole ordeal in itself!
Zak Papastoris (ZP): Moving was absolute madness. It happened right when the world was seemingly ending in March. We had a spot lined up in Central Square, which is a pricey area, but the pandemic threw everything into chaos. Ultimately, we ended up storing everything in a warehouse for two years.
AB: I reached out to a developer I knew, who also ran a youth group, and we previously did charity skate jams with them. I took a shot and he offered us a retail space in one of his new buildings, along with an old car repair garage across the street for another project. We moved 15 years of cool stuff into the warehouse and waited to see what would happen. We had to pivot and quickly.
We rebuilt a new website within a few weeks. Our roles shifted fast, Zak became our warehouse manager. Running a skate shop is like skating, you figure it out as you go. We had to figure out how to operate a fully online business. Pat’s e-commerce experience helped navigate the back-end. Zak took on the huge task of managing the warehouse, making sure we had all the shipping supplies. We were lucky to have such a strong crew, we wouldn’t have survived without them.
Operating 100% Digitally
What was it like running a shop 100% online for a year?
ZP: It was definitely hard to explain how to get a complete skateboard setup through email! In the shop, we talk to people daily, helping them with their gear, but online we lost that personal connection. It was strange for us to adjust to not having that face-to-face interaction, especially since we all come from customer service backgrounds. Working in the warehouse was probably the first time I’d been away from people in a work environment. It was a crazy change from seeing hundreds of people each weekend to only seeing Armin and Pat every day for a year and a half.
Did skaters still find ways to get their gear during the shutdown?
AB: They did. It was a bit tricky because the building was slated for development. We couldn’t get the necessary permits and technically shouldn’t have been operating there. We tried to keep a low profile. People would call me to pick up orders, and we’d meet them at the storefront we were renting, with papered-over windows, felt like a covert operation.
ZP: [In a low voice] Just call the number and we’ll send a guy out.
Back in Business: A New Chapter
Now that you’ve reopened a physical shop, is it back to business as usual?
AB: Since moving to online-only, we’ve been fortunate that it’s been successful. 2021 was our best year ever. We owe that to our customers from over the years. But we’d be foolish to just go back to exactly how we were before, with everything focused on the brick-and-mortar store. We wanted to keep the online store going, with space for inventory needed for that selection, while also having a physical store in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
The space we have now has a lot of character and is smaller than our previous location. I was worried that people would expect the same experience as the previous location with the bowl, the gallery, and hidden vintage shop. That kind of space is hard to come by in today’s world. But, for what we lost in the larger experiential space, we gained something that has everything we need, right in the mix. We can help people shop online, and for those who come in, we can help them shop the full selection, find the right size or color and ship it out for free if needed.
“For years, I’ve been encouraging other shop owners to remember we are skate shops. We can make money on skateboards, wheels, and trucks… rather than constantly chasing trends.”
2021 was your best year?
AB: Yes. Our worst years were around 2015 or 2016. We pivoted back to having just one shop, cut costs, and knew cash flow would be tight for a while. My two shop partners stepped aside around that time. From 2017 to 2018 we just focused on doing more with less, reinvesting all profits back into the business, restocking, and rebuilding our hardgoods and skateboarding focus. Things grew slowly and steadily for a few years, then the pandemic hit.
Even with the skateboard shortage in the first months of the pandemic, we managed to stay afloat. A lot of that had to do with being lean, and just reinvesting everything back into the product and what’s going on locally. Our cash flow was strong enough, so we bought whatever product we could when it became available. There was definitely a wave of new skaters in 2018 and 2019, and we are grateful they continued to support us during the pandemic and spread the word to new skaters who came to us for COVID complete skateboards.
For years I’ve encouraged other shop owners to focus on skateboards, wheels, and trucks rather than constantly chasing trends. You never know what will be popular. We invested in the local scene and made sure we had the best hardgoods anyone could want.
The Skateboarding Boom and the Future
Do you think the 2020 boom has ended?
AB: Things have slowed a little in the last few months, but we aren’t necessarily selling fewer decks, just the pace has slowed. The early pandemic boom of new skaters, combined with the shortages, changed how everyone ordered. Instead of ordering ahead of time, we had to start committing to orders a year in advance. Last summer and fall some brands shipped three seasons of hardgoods all at once, things we ordered anywhere from six to twelve months prior. We’re positive and are hoping things stabilize and adjust.
These are interesting times. A lot has changed, but in Boston and New England, the skate scene is stronger than ever. Two years without a physical shop is a long time for a young skater. We’ve been helping one kid with products here and there, he got his first board during the pandemic, and now he’s filming in the streets for a farm team project we are developing. The next generation is coming in hot! Skating is a cycle of life, there will always be more people getting into it, and we hope to be here to support them!
“Skating is a cycle of life, there’s always gonna be more people getting into it and coming up.”
How did losing the personal connection with people affect your motivation to film videos?
AB: It probably did affect us. We wanted to connect with people since we couldn’t see them in person. Part of our mission is to highlight Boston and New England skaters. Our team is one of the best out there, we’ve got skaters with a diverse range of styles, but they all fit together well. Adding new team riders is a democratic process, with the existing team voting. Everyone is hyped on Zack, and we’ve been slowly working on him joining the team. The pandemic made filming tricky, it’s a bit of a psychological adjustment.
ZP: At the start of the pandemic, it was actually easier to film because everyone was so scared that no one was out. We could skate spots that we’d normally get kicked out of. While we were moving, we had more free time, but then it got harder because we had a lot more work to do. It went from being casual to weekend warrior filming.
What are Orchard’s plans for the future?
AB: Video-wise, we just dropped the team announcement clip, and we have an exciting project coming out soon, a skate video with some editorial, dealing with personal stuff from one of our riders. Later this spring and summer, Lee Madden will be releasing a longer project we’ve been working on. We also hope to travel and film more with the team, see people in person, and help them change their bearings. We’ve built a good relationship with the people running the courts in Chinatown, where we set up ramps for skate jams. We plan to continue building on that, finding new spots for video premieres and in-person events. We are excited to feel almost normal again!
Interview by: Ian Browning
Video by: Thomas Purtell
Photos by: Maydoney
