Cherry Hill Shop Moves Framing Business Online Amid Outbreak

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Michael Bornfreund is finding a way to keep his family-run business going while adhering to social distancing protocols to help prevent the spread of new coronavirus.

Bornfeund runs MFC Authentics & Framing, a picture framing and sports memorabilia store on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, along with his parents, brother and sister. The store has been open in its current incarnation for about a year and a half, after they ran a sports memorabilia shop for a few years.

Business was going well until the beginning of March, when people began to realize the seriousness of the coronavirus.Then, over the past weekend, Gov. Phil Murphy ordered non-essential retail businesses to close as part of his “stay at home” order. Read more here: Gov. Murphy Announces NJ ‘Stay At Home’ Order Due To Coronavirus

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“The necessary precautions that the government is making are hurting the brick-and-mortar stores that rely on face-to-face customer interactions,” Bornfreund said. “To cope, we have developed an online platform where consumers can design their own picture frames and have them shipped to their homes, thus working through the concerns of the current situation and adapting to find a solution.”

Where restaurants, bars, liquor stores and even breweries can continue to offer take-out for their customers, hobby shops such as Bornfreund’s don’t have the same option, but the owners must still find a way to get by.

“We saw this as an opportunity to adapt, and go virtual,” said Bornfreund, who added that online purchases were likely to become part of the business model at some point. “This brought it to the forefront.”

MFC sells sports memorabilia, but it also offers custom framing of all kinds, including art work, diplomas, sports jerseys and sheet music prints, among others.

Customers who were previously able to bring in items and meet face-to-face with Bornfreund and his family can now go online and have the same experience.

“This gives them the chance to go online and play around with some things,” Bornfreund said. “People are going to go stir crazy, and this is a chance to maybe get that motivational poster done or some of the other things they’ve been wanting to do.”

Residents will be inside for some time, as no end date was set for the shelter-in-place on Saturday. Murphy said it was going to be weeks to months, and that it wasn’t as if this was “going to be over next week.”

MFC Authentics & Framing's online services are available at https://onlineframing.mfcauthenticsandframing.com/. Anyone using the site and needs help from store owners can call 856-535-3500 or email mfcauthentics@themfcgroup.com.

“We get our phone calls forwarded even if we are not physically there,” Bornfreund said.

For more information about the store, including fundraising activities and athlete signings at the store, visit https://mfcauthenticsandframing.com/. They are also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Want to share your stories of how you're getting by amid the coronavirus outbreak in South Jersey with Patch? Email us at anthony.bellano@patch.com.