Exiled off Main Street - 196
Hal Waste His Wages!
November 28, 2004

You know those editorials where the story is prefaced by, “The opinions of so-and-so do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher…yada yada yada,” followed by some blowhard rambling on about his or her take on something or other? Well this is one of those situations, and in an effort to avoid stepping on the toes of potential advertisers I wish to invoke the blowhard editorial preface rules.

It was one thing to see a corporate franchise like Quick Chek squeezed off Hoboken’s Washington Street, and now Rite Aid (226 Washington St., Hoboken) has chosen to follow suit. But if retailers with corporate franchise backing can’t stand the inflated rents of Hoboken’s main drag, then how are the local, independently owned businesses going to fare? Seemingly not all that well…

Effective January 1st, Empire Coffee (currently at 231 Washington St., Hoboken) will be relocating to 338 Bloomfield St. (formerly Saffron Grill). When asked why she was relocating, owner Abbe Rivers tells me, “My rent is basically tripling—we made an offer to try and split the difference but [the landlord] wouldn’t budge, so I have no choice.” Rivers adds, “It’s a shame to have to pick up and leave the space. But in the ten years that I’ve been there I’ve seen a lot of interesting small businesses fall by the wayside.”

Maureen Kennedy, owner of Hand Mad, moved the store from116 Washington Street where it had served the community for 14 years, to it’s new location at 86 Park St. She, too, has felt the squeeze of drastically higher rent increases. “I tried reasoning with [the landlord], but it’s just a matter of profit,” she says. When asked what sort of recourse she had to fight the hikes, Kennedy bemoans the issue that, “Commercial tenants basically have no rights, and anyone I talked to didn’t care about neighborhood businesses.”

Nick Petruzelli, of Petruzelli Realty (131 Washington Street, Hoboken), represents the landlord who owns the storefronts in question. “Property goes up,” he says. “The market has gone up dramatically and these businesses were underpriced.” Petruzelli explains, “Landlords don’t drive up prices—perspective tenants do. There’s always someone who is willing to pay—it’s the real estate business.”

I suppose that’s all well and good—but what happens when there isn’t someone willing to pay? What happens when Nextel and Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile decide they don’t need to pay $9,000 a month for a storefront that basically serves as little more than a billboard? What happens Panera or Starbucks feel the need to tighten the corporate belt and suddenly pull the plug on their Hoboken operations (a la Quick Chek and Rite Aid)? Look at the fact that the Quick Chek space (222 Washington St., Hoboken) remains vacant with no potential lessee nearly nine months after the chain pulled out. And the scuttlebutt about a Gap or some other major retailer coming in has been squashed, according to another local realtor, because “those chains require sufficient parking before they open a store in an area.” I guess that kind of rules out Washington Street.

There has to be more forethought put into the development of Hoboken, since right now Washington Street is becoming little more than a glorified strip mall—we’re just waiting on the Applebee’s. Businesses that have given the town its character are being kicked to the curb and exiled off main street, if not forced to shut down altogether.
“I have a business and I want to keep it going,” says Hand Mad’s Kennedy. “I was able to find a nice neighborhood where I’m comfortable,” she says of her new location, but with business having gone down 30% since the move, it’s easy to see why she might miss Washington St.

It’s important for a town to embrace and cultivate its own businesses, since when the chips are down, the other shoe drops, or any other cliché that can be used in reference to a skittish economy comes into play, the businesses that make their home here will tend to stay while those who saw Hoboken as a nice little quickie may be more likely to zip up and run out the door.

“The charm of the town is small business,” says Empire Coffee’s Rivers. “[We’re] honest people trying to make an honest living selling a righteous product,” she adds. “I’m really sad that this is my last Christmas here in this space.”

Be sure to visit Hand Mad at 86 Park St. for all your Christmas needs, and stop by Empire Coffee at 338 Bloomfield to lift that New Year’s hangover.

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