There went the fish store In Hoboken, some landmark businesses close while others thrive
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Joe García, owner of the former Riviera Bakery on Washington Street, says that customers were upset when he closed the doors of the bakeshop for good last year.
"People cried," García says.
But after his 10-year lease was up, García could not afford to renew.
"I liked Hoboken, says García, who also has bakeries in Newark and Kearney. "I was very happy there. We just couldn't justify the amount of rent that they asked for. We couldn't find it financially feasible to stay."
Sleeping with the fishes
Just in this past year, the city has said goodbye to over a dozen beloved establishments besides García's bakery, including Joseph Apicella & Sons fish market. The market, on historic First Street, was the last place exclusively for fresh fish in town. Now residents have to turn to supermarkets for a not-quite-as-fresh catch.
Bayonne resident Tom Bragen, who has worked in Hoboken since 1958, recalls the quality of the product and the service that he says characterized Apicella, whose large swordfish sign still floats above the storefront
"You never smelled fish, which meant it was always fresh," Bragen says. "The selection was excellent. It was a very friendly store."
Bragen laments that now the loyal customers will be relegated to shop for their seafood at bigger chain stores.
"Usually in a supermarket, the staff doesn't have the level of experience and knowledge of working with fish or meat," he says.
Along with Riviera Bakery and Apicella's market, a number other small, specialized establishments have closed, including Stemple Pharmacy on Willow Avenue, and many independently-owned convenience stores.
Longtime Hoboken resident John Heliker says that he misses the small corner stores that used to line the city's streets.
"How many banks, real estate offices and law offices do we need?" he asks. "You can't even walk down the street to the bodega anymore because it's gone."
Service with a smile
But while the bodegas and the bakeries like Riviera or Cosmo's on Washington Street (which closed three years ago) have been bought out, other mainstays are not worried.
Every day at lunchtime, the Italian deli M& P Biancamano's on Washington Street is packed with customers clamoring for home-made chicken parmagiana or the deli's famous over-stuffed subs.
Owner Pietro Biancamano, who last week hung a banner celebrating the 25th anniversary, says that he is not worried about his shop.
"Downtown there's a lot of change," he says. "Up here, things are pretty much steady."
Biancamano, who has lived in Hoboken since his family came over in 1971 from Naples, Italy, says he is confident he will have continued success as long as he follows the same plan he has since the beginning:
"Good quality, good product and service with a smile."
Biancamano does admit that the conversion of many of the old uptown factories to condos has affected his lunch rush.
"I miss the Maxwell House factory," he says, recalling the factory that closed in 1992. "The place had 3,000 workers."
But there are other old shops still in business. Schnackenberg's luncheonette, a Hoboken institution since the 1930s, is right down the street from Biancamano's offering low prices.
And several Italian bakeries, such as Giorgio's and Carlo's on Washington Street, are still serving up cakes and cannolis. Carlo's at 95 Washington St. has been alive and thriving since 1910. Dom's is still thriving on the west side of town.
Relocating
Although the Hoboken Chamber of Commerce does not keep track of the number of businesses that close down in Hoboken each year (and neither does the office of the city clerk), it does keep track of new members. Chamber President Bob Mahnken says that while many stores have closed downtown, there is a rebirth going on uptown, where landlords charge less.
"If you look uptown, they've actually grown," he says.
And while Mahnken, who owns the Tux shop on Bloomfield Street, admits that rents may not be that significantly cheaper uptown, he says that every little bit counts. "To a small business," he said, "a little means a lot."
Frankie Volpe, who owns the soon-to-open Napoli Pizzeria at 1120 Washington St., agrees.
"For a place this size downtown, I'd probably pay $2,000 more a month in rent," he says.
Keeping it in the family
Sometimes, a mom-and-pop store can't keep the business within the family.
Hoboken Historical Museum director Bob Foster has gotten to know the stories of many local successes and failures over the years.
"Many people don't realize how much work is required to run a store," he said. "Many times the next generation doesn't want to make the commitment."
He also said that sometimes people just retire.
Foster mentioned Joseph Apicella & Sons fish market on First Street as an example. "For him, it was not a matter of rent," he said.
Open and shut
Many local business owners believe that commercial rent control would help Hoboken's small mom and pop shops stick around a little longer.
"There should have been something done years ago that protects the stores the same way they protect the residences through rent control," said García. "I believe that if they had, it would have kept a lot more of these businesses running."
Heliker, a lifetime member of the Hoboken Historical Society, has another suggestion. "Tax incentives would be a good solution," he says. "We've got to funnel some sort of policy through City Hall."
Hoboken City Council member Theresa Castellano, who has owned City Discount House at 207 Washington St. since the early '80s, also agrees that a cap on rents would help keep some of Hoboken's original shops around. "I'd love to see rent control on commercial property," she said. She added that she has tried to bring up the matter before the council on several occasions, but that she is in the minority in supporting that type of proposal.
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