You Tell Us: How Can North Baltimore's Small Business Climate Be Improved?

SYLVAN FINKELSTEIN February 22, 2012 at 01:17 pm

OPEN BUSINESS THAT PEOPLE REALLY NEED,CLOTHING STORES SHOE STORE,A GOOD GOOD DOLLAR STORES,THINGS LIKE THIS.NOT ANTIQUE STORES OR OTHER GARBAGE THEY ESPECIALLY HAVE IN HAMDEN,36TH ST IS KEEPING THE AREA VERY VIBRANT,AS SOME MAY THINK

Benn Ray February 22, 2012 at 07:00 pm

If only you knew of any leaders in the related areas' business communities you could pose the question to.
As for Sylvan - Hampden has had several dollars stores in the past decade. It also had several general type stores (GC Murphy and Gallo Clothing) on the Avenue. These businesses closed because they were not supported by the community. Interestingly, the 2 businesses for rent in the photos showed are old-school businesses that the community also failed to support.

Christian February 22, 2012 at 07:14 pm

Benn Ray is correct in that most neighborhoods do not support small business ventures as is noted by the various closings in Charles Village. Every day as you walk around the neighborhood you will note another small business opening and closing because of lack of support by the community. I think that if the small business owners got together with the other small business partners in any neighborhood and discussed issues and presented a united front they could get the interest of the neighborhoods, but usually politics of some sort intervenes and stops this from happening. In Charles Village I was excluded from participating in one neighborhood business association because I didn't live precisely within some unknown boundaries and the other business association excluded me because I didn't support the Benefits District. However, if these small business operators put together a web site and advertise their services they should be able to draw from the entire community rather than one portion of it. Keep your prices competitive and provide the services that are needed and success will come to you. We have M&J Soul Food on the corner of St. Paul and 25th Street and they provide good food at reasonable prices and we keep on coming back.

ablebakercharley February 22, 2012 at 09:55 pm

Neighborhoods don't have an obligation to support local businesses, it has to be a mutually beneficial relationship. Why would you support a business that doesn't offer good service, good prices or some other added value? Just because they're local?

Cara February 22, 2012 at 10:32 pm

ablebakercharley - I believe that is along the lines of what Benn was saying. As small business owners, we often hear the reason for lack of local support is because we aren't offering what the neighborhood needs and wants, like all of the suggestions Sylvan said. What Benn clearly stated, is these types of businesses that the neighborhood supposedly wants (and therefore will support) did exist at one point and unsurprisingly, were not supported and have since been replaced by other alternatives. Alternatives that are apparently, according to Sylvan, "garbage" but are still managing to hang in there during difficult times when the others have since closed up.
The arrival of Dollar Stores in a neighborhood like this would be a classic sign of urban decay. Honestly, the dollar store would probably do way more business here than I ever could, but watch how quickly the surrounding areas deteriorate. Do you think a dollar store would keep the tourists coming to Hampden? Do you think your houses would maintain its value because you're "in walking distance to the dollar store!" as compared to unique boutiques, dining and many other services?

k harris February 22, 2012 at 10:39 pm

Having lived in Waverly I actually do think that there is room for discount stores that serve the local population.. a far better option to have locally owned dollar stores than some big gigantic box store.
And yes in fact I would rather live closer to groceries and affordable amenities available from a diverse array of small retailers serving a varied income population than to chocolate, shoes, and lamps made out of antlers.

CharlotteMurray February 22, 2012 at 10:44 pm

Businesses change with the time. There are many great businesses in the Charles Village, Belvedere and Hampden business districts have have weathered many storms and thrived! The ones that close at any given moment do so for various reasons. One closes because the weather does not cooperate and interferes with major holidays. One closes because the area is flooded with other business that does the same thing for less money so it loses the competition. Others close because they have been languishing for years and finally give up. It does not all have to do with the "local" community but with the community at large. Hampden often has customers from New York, Washington, D.C. and Annapolis. Hampden has plenty of customers from the Hampden community and Woodberry and Govans and Roland Park. We are not islands in our communities. But as for value: it is more valuable to put money into a local small business in your neighborhood than it is to drive across town and put your money into a chain store's cash register because the local small business will then spend that money in your neighborhood (reinvestment) while the chain store will whisk that money off to accounts unknown and not really care much about value or customer or neighborhood.
And one does not support bad business, bad service, bad price but why assume that that is all that is offered from small business? Why presume that the chain store is offering you this?

Gordon Steen February 22, 2012 at 11:34 pm

The city should suspend property taxes on retail space for a 3 year period for new, small retailers. The Inner Harbor gets tax breaks. Why not the neighborhoods?

daniel mcgarrity February 23, 2012 at 02:20 am

Success is not easy, nor without a great many details..few of which are easily identified by citizens who are NOT small business owners.
Ecomomic success would have 3 dimensions; the owners need for growth and profit, the community need for stable and consistent employment as well as advancement, and finally, the town's need for a stable and consistent tax payer-as defined by the owners profits, and the communities employment. Budget and nationally owned stores provide very little of the first two, and perform marginally on the third point. There may be a need for cheap socks, but the owner of a cheap stock store does not employ 3-10 people where at least 1 of them can work for 20 years and support a family. There to many competitors for a lower price to use this as a business model, sustainability should be the driving consideration when the city and state dole out tax abatements and deferments. More small communities like Hampden and Charles Village will thrive with long lasting privately owned businesses that employ people within 5-10 miles then those who solely provide goods or services to the same. Unique retail experiences are difficult to predict or plan, but they do rest on several simple ideals-Good service, fair price (not the lowest) and consistent good customer interaction. If all of those items are equal, then the goods or services offered must be of superior quality, or perceived scarcity that those in the know will travel from far away to get them

Able Baker February 23, 2012 at 06:05 pm

That's not really what he said. He said they were "old-school businesses that the community also failed to support". Nothing about the quality of the business, whether they provided good service, (or probably more importantly needed services), fair prices, etc. There's plenty of businesses in Hampden that are successful and supported by the community, why did these two fail? I know with Mr. Ray the answer is always 1. Walmart and 2. Walmart, but that seems simplistic. Having been a regular customer of New System, my guess is the extended shutdown when they moved from their spot on the Avenue, at least one change of ownership and complaints that they changed their recipes.
As for whether a dollar store is something the community wants, why are we asking the guy who can't work a caps lock?

Steven Appel March 7, 2012 at 02:12 am

I have a furniture store in Belvedere Square with a interior design studio. I find this conversation about North Baltimore business very encouraging. Back when we were on Charles Street 1987-2005 no one wanted to talk about each others business and the day to day challenges we faced as a community. Short and simple...owning your own business is tough. You have to constantly out fox the fox day to day in my business. It's so disheartening to go into a Homegoods and see one of my vendors selling off what I'm selling in my store for a fraction of the price to HG. That being said we travel to many shows to buy at and constantly change our merchandising mix to keep the customer coming back. I do find in Baltimore that if the customer can't find parking vy close to your store....they leave. That's why we left Charles St....or one of the reasons. Belvedere Square has its own opportunities and challenges. We have an amazing market...wine shop...bagel joint and much else...but our visibility is low and our downtown customers think they are driving across the Sahara Desert to get to us. Case and point....Baltimore customers want you easy and accessible to get to and that is hard where we are. We are supported greatly by the community around us...but we face challenges as well. We try to give the very best service, good prices that can somewhat compete with the online sharks....but I do wonder sometimes what the fate is for brick and mortar business's.