August 23
...serving up your daily dish.
This was a neat store and I will miss it. Another casualty of the high rent district, I presume.
I liked Shirley, too, and I was impressed with her and her staff's creativity when they ran that cool "points" contest every year. I bought a lot of exquisite jewelry there over the years.
Good luck, Shirley, wherever you go.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Aug 23, 2005 9:17:20 AM
They are not closing, just moving to NYC. Shirley just figured that if she were going to be asked to pay NY rent, maybe she should be in NY. My wife and I will miss going there... :( What are they going to rename cafe eclectic to when Montclair isn't eclectic?
Posted by: Bill | Aug 23, 2005 12:21:59 PM
does the same person own all of the stores on Church Street? It seems like everyone's rent was recently hiked and I can't believe all the new stores that are in there in just the past few months. Who is this "capitalist" who hiked up all the rents???
Posted by: robin | Aug 23, 2005 1:55:58 PM
does the same person own all of the stores on Church Street? It seems like everyone's rent was recently hiked and I can't believe all the new stores that are in there in just the past few months. Who is this "capitalist" who hiked up all the rents???
Posted by: robin | Aug 23, 2005 1:56:09 PM
A year ago business "leaders" spoke of a new vision for downtown Montclair.
They spoke of "high end" shopping, of unique boutique stores. They expressed a fear of national chains.
They said they wanted stores of genuine value, stores that wouldn't be found in the malls, stores that higher income people might find attractive, stores that could become a destination.
Stores like, er, Dexterity or Toys in The Attic?
And now they're moving out because they can't afford Montclair rents (at least in the case of Dexterity)?
And, let's see, what has moved in? Oh! I know! The Halloween Store!
So there we have it: the vision vs. the reality.
Cary
Posted by: carya | Aug 23, 2005 11:23:15 PM
Wow, the bitterness is amazing. Does anyone actually know any of the numbers (current rent vs. new rent)?
has anyone simply considered that since Shirley lives in NYC, maybe she wants to reduce her commute?
In any event, whatever the reason, I certainly wish her the best in her new location which I am sure many of us will visit. NYC is not that far away.
And I look forward to seeing what new shop(s) comes along.
Posted by: Kevin Lee Allen | Aug 24, 2005 8:16:54 AM
well, I know for a fact (I used to work with her), that a massage therapist on Church St. just moved out because her rent was hiked up 3x!!! Same with the Church Street Opticians -- their rent was hiked up 3x what their old lease went for. Wow. Now THAT's a rent hike. I think we have reason to be unhappy with all the changes.....
Posted by: robin | Aug 24, 2005 8:34:14 AM
I used to think of Church Street as kind of a fun place. Certainly worth showing up an hour early for the movies for in order to browse. I've even bought gift certificates from a charming massage therapist there (were there more than 2 on the block?).
So I am curious about those rents, and what kinds of stores can afford to pay 3x what the current funky tenants are paying. You'd have to sell an awful lot of tarot readings or candles or hand puppets, for example, to make your monthly nut. So what replaces stuff like that, can move pricey goods or services in large enough volume? I'd be curious to hear Mr. Grabowsky's opinions on this issue, dear Barista or Liz.
Posted by: cathar | Aug 24, 2005 10:11:24 AM
Cathar wrote:
"So I am curious about those rents, and what kinds of stores can afford to pay 3x what the current funky tenants are paying. You'd have to sell an awful lot of tarot readings or candles or hand puppets, for example, to make your monthly nut."
The Halloween Store?
Cary
Posted by: carya | Aug 24, 2005 1:23:28 PM
You can thank Dick Grabowski for a lot of people moving out. He owns the building where the theater is. He does not, I believe, own where Dexterity is but perhaps whoever owns that is going along with Dick!
Posted by: Anabel | Aug 24, 2005 4:03:55 PM
You can thank Dick Grabowski for a lot of people moving out. He owns the building where the theater is. He does not, I believe, own where Dexterity is but perhaps whoever owns that is going along with Dick!
Posted by: Anabel | Aug 24, 2005 4:04:04 PM
I worked at Dexterity and I can tell you she was getting quite a deal on the rent when I was there in the late 90s. The building had been bought during the time and I was very surprised the new owner did not raise the rent at that time. I do not know if the rent has been made to be equal to the going rate or if it is quite obscene, but do not go up in arms if it is going rate.
Shirley spent many a night sleeping in that store's loft during the holiday season and big sale days because buses stopeed running late at night. I bet she'll be glad to be closer to home. She's a big fan of NY and always found herself disgusted by Montclair politics. I'd hate to say tho, Dexterity will probably become a store that's a dime a dozen in NY where it is more unique here in Essex county. Too bad there wasn't a nice store front in Bloomfield or Caldwell for her to move to. That's where the stores seem to be moving to.
Posted by: Bloomfield Miss | Aug 24, 2005 4:32:57 PM
Dexterity has been in their current space for about 10 years. I would venture to state that in that time the cost of a home in Montclair has more than tripled. Why is anyone shocked that rents are/will going up accordingly?
In the case of Dick Grabowsky's Hinck Building, some rents were not even covering the taxes collected on the square footage of the stores/offices. Maybe Dick could keep the rent down if the county and the school system did not reach so deeply into his (and everyone's) pockets
Posted by: Kevin Lee Allen | Aug 24, 2005 5:30:04 PM
Kevin commented,
"Dexterity has been in their current space for about 10 years. I would venture to state that in that time the cost of a home in Montclair has more than tripled. Why is anyone shocked that rents are/will going up accordingly?"
You are making an assumption that has absolutely no basis. On the contrary, I assume that she has had many increases.
Also, how is it that you know Grabowski's rents weren't covering the taxes? If any of the landlords care to make this info public, fine. But in the meantime, wild guesses about rent and tax increases are really not useful.
Cary
Posted by: carya | Aug 24, 2005 7:41:48 PM
Cary,
In commercial leases that I have been involved in, rents increase nominally each year. I assume that Dexterity has seen its rent increase in the area of 3-5% each year of a standard 10 year lease. I hope that I indicated that was speculation on my part.
3-5% annual increases should satisfy an owner's increased annual costs. With the schools insatiable appetite for tax dollars, that is probably not correct, but I would have to do the math.
Small increases also do not reflect increases in the area's desirability. Small increases do not compensate for any major maintenance issues. When Dexterity moved into that space, Church Street was a Ghost Town. There were more empty stores than thriving businesses. At the time, I was president of the Chamber of Commerce, the various property owners approached me to find non-profits who wanted to use their empty windows as display cases so that the street would not seem desolate to potential tenants. I am sure that Dexterity's rent reflects those conditions. That would lead me to being unsure that her rent properly compensates the land lord. Now, if the building was recently sold at a market price, the rent surely would not cover the new owners costs.
I don't think that any property owner has any obligation to reveal any of his or her actual costs to the public at large. Further more, I don't think the public has any right to expect, ask or demand the same.
That said, my comments regarding the Hinck Building are based on conversations with the owner and my own knowledge of rents paid in the building.
Those comments were factual not "wild guesses."
I do wish that people would not assume that so many issues are the result of people they perceive as evil-doers, or some kind of conspiracy. In fact, this particular issue is one of our own success.
If Montclair is popular, rents will increase. That popularity should indicate that there are more consumers and increased sales.
In fact again, I can clearly see the difference in the number of people shopping on Church Street (and Downtown in general) today, as opposed to ten years ago.
Posted by: Kevin Lee Allen | Aug 25, 2005 9:15:00 AM
"I don't think that any property owner has any obligation to reveal any of his or her actual costs to the public at large. Further more, I don't think the public has any right to expect, ask or demand the same."
I disagree with this statement. If I'm paying $$$ to someone, be it a landlord or a hairdresser, I'd like some sort of itemization and/or explanation of what I'm paying for. I don't think this request is unreasonable.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Aug 25, 2005 9:42:48 AM
Actually, Cary, I didn't at all mean the Halloween store (and those are rather common in malls during Septemer-October, just late in coming to Montclair). On Church Street there is a "New Age" shop, name escaping me, that sells candles, charms, etc. And in its basement is/was (is she the one moving out?) a charming massage therapist. Perhaps you've simply walked by this store paying it no mind? It doesn't sell high-ticket items, so it clearly has to sell a lot of them.
Kevin Lee Allen is of course right that if Montclair is popular, rents will in turn increase. Why wouldn't they? The question then becomes, if rents rise precipitously, as others above have charged (seemingly without documentation), what kinds of stores can afford such rents. Well, those selling $300 jeans and colanders, as opposed to $5 a pop candles, as long as their merchandise moves well enough. But then, that notorious colander still hasn't sold, has it? (And if "Gimme Jimmies" has to rely on posters' reviews, it too has problems.) You're going to get on Church Street what you can "afford," folks, even if you have no intention of shopping at such stores yourself.
Posted by: cathar | Aug 25, 2005 10:56:25 AM
I think you mean New Dimensions, Cathar. Nice folks. They also do Tarot card readings, hold seminars and such so that's probably how they supplment their income.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Aug 25, 2005 11:07:09 AM
Yes, New Dimensions!, Miss Martta. But it never looks very busy to me, so I always wonder how they hang on since you can buy scented candles for a lot less someplace like Kohl's. These things seem to ride waves of interest, after all. Does a tarot reading or one of those "seminars" cost as much as a colander? And is New Dimensions' core clientele even from Baristaville? Few posters I've read ever evince much interest in conventional religion, let alone contact with the dead, earth spirits, zodiacal readings, etc.
Posted by: cathar | Aug 25, 2005 11:13:32 AM
Yes, you can but scented candles at Kohl's but they haven't been "blessed" in one way or another as have the candles at New Dimensions (i.e., green candles for prosperity, red for romance, pink for healing, etc.) Whether or not you believe in this is immaterial; the people who buy candles at ND do.
I haven't had a "reading" in quite some time so I don't know what the going rate is. Suffice it to say that it was NOT anywhere near $300! More like $25 but that's a few years ago.
I think the clientele came from all over, through word of mouth.
I'm not much into astrology (my mom was) but I do believe that people with "sixth sense" abilities exist. However, one needs to be careful as there are a lot of charlatans (not the folks at ND!) out there professing to have these powers.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Aug 25, 2005 11:21:10 AM
Miss Martta, if one seeks "blessed" candles, one can easily, instead, go to a much funkier and cheaper brujeria (and while there also pick up statues of "saints" the Catholic Church has never heard of and "come back powder" for errant lovers). There are a few in Passaic and Paterson, and a true passel in Union City-North Bergen. But I'm still shocked!, shocked!! that the rationalists who seem to populate Baristaville keep New Dimensions going.
As to whether the folks at New Dimensions are charlatans, however, that may just be a matter of opinion. I have in fact looked at the leaflets for many of their seminars and found them a bit wild in their claims (especially re mediumship). But then I've also been to Cassadaga, Florida and Camp Slver Belle and even the famed Camp Chesterfield in Indiana. Have worked the circuit, so to speak, and still have never seen much that wasn't based on either trickery or simply good psychology. (That doesn't, however, mean I don't accept the possible/probable existence of "sensitivity" in people, and all sorts of other related stuff.)
Posted by: cathar | Aug 25, 2005 11:43:18 AM
They defintely exist, Cathar. I've had readers or mediums, who I've never met before in my life and who knew nothing about me, tell me things about myself that were uncanny, right down to the actual mention of persons' names, places, and events.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Aug 25, 2005 11:50:33 AM
Sorry Cathar,
re. the reference to the Halloween store. I keep poking fun at it because I watch my favorite stores, like Toys in the Attic, or Dexterity, leave, and the newest thing in town is The Halloween Store.
Kevin said,
".. my comments regarding the Hinck Building are based on conversations with the owner and my own knowledge of rents paid in the building."
Well Kevin, My comments are based on conversations I've had with several large renters. And since no one is laying down "real" numbers on the table a case can't be made either way. I also know that in some instances, renters have made large improvements to basic facilities in their building, or other concessions, that have to be taken into account.
I do hope that all stores will succede, but in visiting Dexterity yesterday afternoon, and eating on Church Street several nights in the past week, the only crowds seem to be around Raymonds. It also looked to me like Gimee Jimmy's was closing rather early.
Investors and property owners are certainly due returns on their investments and I'm not saying charity includes lower than "market" rents. But a market implies willing buyers and sellers. And when you have lots of empty storefronts, with rents exceding what newcomers are willing to pay, by definition that rent is above market.
The loss of Dexterity is extremely unfortunate. Both Dexterity and Toys in the Article were "destination" stores. I would certainly drive 30 miles to either. I wouldn't drive to a cookie or ice cream store, and I would buy my "high end" cookware on-line using PriceScan to insure the best price.
I hope Dexterity will find itself in a better place and I wish Shirley the best of luck. Her store brought many people to Montclair to shop and eat, and Dexterity was a part of my life since 1984. Our home is full of Dexterity, from early presents from the kids to their mom, to anniversary presents, to stunning vases and other glass.
Thanks for the great discussion!
Cary
Posted by: carya | Aug 25, 2005 12:01:01 PM
