Local News

Site of iconic former Christmas Tree Shops has a new tenant

It won't be another Spirit Halloween, as was the case temporarily for the space last fall.

The Christmas Tree Shops location in Bourne has a new tenant. Stephen Rose/Boston Globe

February 1, 2024

1 minute to read

The iconic, thatched-roof building and its adjacent windmill that used to house a Christmas Tree Shops near the Sagamore Bridge is getting a new tenant this spring.

No, it won’t be another Spirit Halloween, as was temporarily the case last fall after Christmas Tree Shops closed down all its locations for good and cleared out the space in Bourne.

TULP Outdoor Living, which signed an eight-month lease, opens its doors to customers March 1 with its second retail showroom. The Massachusetts-based business sells contemporary, European-inspired outdoor furniture, like sectionals, solar lighting, and gazebos.

Gabriel Kroeze, TULP co-owner, said they’re from the Netherlands, so a building with a windmill attached just felt fitting.

“Everyone recognizes that building,” Kroeze said. “I had been thinking about how we could make this work, and we made it work with the owners.”

They do a lot of business on the Cape already, Kroeze said, so it also made sense for them to open a showroom closer to the Cape and Islands during the spring and summer seasons.

It isn’t immediately clear what comes after the eight-month lease is up. When Boston.com asked readers what they’d like to see become of the unofficial Massachusetts landmark, some suggested an upscale restaurant, the Cape Cod welcome center, or even a pickleball court.

The building is still owned by Greg Bilezikian, son of former Christmas Tree Shops owners Charles and Doreen Bilezikian, the Cape Cod Times reports. The store, around since the 1950s, saw expansion across the Northeast after the Bilezikians bought the original store in Yarmouth Port. Christmas Tree Shops sold more than just Christmas decorations, with shelves full of seasonal finds and home goods.