Keyport businesses see opportunities despite a recession

By SOMDATTA SENGUPTA

Published April 10, 2008

Just off Exit 117 on the Garden State Parkway, a Keyport logo inscribed on a water tower along Route 36 alerts drivers of the town’s existence. That is, if the traffic is not too bad to afford motorists a glimpse of the tower.

Beyond that, the signage driving into town is minimal, one of many challenges that impact Keyport businesses, according to some local storeowners.

For Chris Fernicola of The Front Porch Emporium on West Front Street, the town, nicknamed the “Pearl of the Bayshore,” is a diamond in the rough that needs a lot of polishing.

Changing weather patterns, lack of signage, advertising, and an underutilized waterfront have added to the recent stalemate that many Keyport merchants are experiencing, Fernicola said.

His store is known for selling holiday and seasonal flags, display items, furniture and gifts. With decorative displays that announce its presence on West Front Street, the store has been a landmark in Downtown Keyport for 12 years, he said.

Business has been slow in spring and Easter, according to Fernicola. “When holidays fall early, it puts a little damper on sales as the weather isn’t favorable to what’s going on,” he said.

He is even less optimistic about sales growth this summer. While events like the recent Keyport St. Patrick Day’s Parade are nice to have, he said it’s like “throwing the town a party” when what’s needed is a steady stream of revenue-generating measures.

“I feel that if there was more promotion, then we will have more people coming into town and more business activity even if we are in a recession,” he said.

If businesses are not situated on the highway, then the business owners’ main hope is centered around Keyport customers. “We get hardly anything from outside,” he said.

For a Keyport store that is situated on the highway, business has not been that great either. Denise Jelinski, manager of the Trading Hut Army & Navy, said changing weather patterns, growing competition and road construction have impacted sales.

“Usually in March we have some kind of snow, but this year we did not have anything. So we had to put our winter items on sale earlier,” she said.

The Trading Hut Army & Navy, located at the intersection of Route 36 and Atlantic Street, is easy to spot and within minutes of Exit 117. It offers seasonal clothing like snow boots, sweatshirts, thermal underwear, hats, and gloves in winter; beach and pool accessories in summer; and military clothing and accessories throughout the year.

“March and April are slow for us, regardless of the recession, because we are in-between seasons,” Jelinski said. However, the store’s seasonal sales figures have dropped, and she attributes that to climate change.

“I usually don’t get shorts in until the end of March or the beginning of April, but this year people were looking for shorts at the end of February,” she said. “We are getting into summer earlier this year. It looks like each season is coming a month ahead of its time.”

Apart from the weather, Jelinski said she is worried about competition. “When we started, we were the only store that carried camouflage. Now everybody seems to have it,” Jelinski said. The niche market advantage that the store enjoyed 15 years ago has been taken over by bigger and cheaper box stores. “Now, even the dollar stores carry camouflage,” she said.

As such, Jelinski said the personal connection she has with her customers, helps the store maintain a business advantage over its competitors. “We are a family business. A lot of people who come to the store have known me since I was little,” she said. “It’s a relationship. We are small and more hands on.”

Whether or not that relationship will translate into business growth is a challenge that all small storeowners face, regardless of a recession, she said. Right now, she plans to stay small and focused. Directing the placement of a new delivery of Timberland boots within the store, Jelinski said she does not plan to add to her already existing inventory. “We are not buying as much, just keeping what we have,” she said.

Back on West Front Street, business issues mix with local government policies at The Clever Hen, a store owned and operated by Keyport Councilwoman Christian Bolte and her mother, Teresa.

This is Bolte’s second year on the Borough Council and her fifth year as a storeowner. She contends that the recession has had little impact on Downtown businesses, as many of the stores are service and novelty based.

“Those things aren’t really affected by the recession I hope,” she said. At her store, she carries specialty items like lotions, quilts, handmade signs, gifts, laces, flags and teapot accessories. The Crabtree and Evelyn skincare line and Colonial candles sell very well, she said, followed by spa products and quilts.

“I consider it mostly for the woman that comes in looking for a house-warming gift. I carry luxury items and not things of necessity,” she said. “If you don’t need it I probably have it.”

Bolte observed that, as a small business owner, she has only made minor adjustments to her store because of the recession. “People might hold off purchasing bigger piece items so we have toned down on our furniture and highlighted our accent-type pieces that don’t break your wallet,” she said.

Then she accentuated the store’s strong points: its ambience and the interaction. “We host different events and demonstrations in the back and give people an experience when they come in, more than say a Wal-Mart,” Bolte said.

Bolte’s down-to-earth approach, mixed with her sense of humor, make Keyport’s Downtown business revival seem both realistic and possible.

From a small, hometown Downtown perspective, Bolte said the town’s location and its historic value are assets to capitalize on.

“People come here for a specific reason. I don’t think we compete with the malls and the outlets,” she said. “It’s more about marketing us from the food, dining, recreation and specialty shop platform.”

This year is a good place to start, according to Bolte. “It’s our centennial year in town, 100 years since our incorporation,” she said. “We bring in between 5,000 to 20,000 people, depending on the event. So we should plan our sales and promotions around those events.”

Notably, she is also the council’s liaison to the Keyport Business Alliance, a group charged with the mission to promote the town’s assets and its businesses. She admits that both the local government and the KBA can do a lot to help local merchants.

Recognizing the contribution of storeowners and keeping local businesses in the loop about economic developments in town is a place to start, she said.

“We are going into the second phase of our waterfront park development that will have a lot of marketing capabilities,” Bolte said.

Next would be to resolve disagreements that divide the town. “The big conflict has been parking or no parking for our waterfront park. Having a small business, I am very good at analyzing parking problems, and at this moment we don’t have one,” Bolte said.

Third would be to focus on other opportunities in promoting the town as a destination. “Visibility of signage at the entrance-ways of the town is important to make people take notice of Keyport and get them to turn into the Downtown area,” she said.

She stressed the importance of keeping the Downtown spotless as it creates goodwill and return customers. “We also have a Neighborhood Preservation Program grant for our highway district and for Maple Place, our second downtown area,” she said. The grant helps municipalities to preserve and enhance local areas through strategic revitalization plans, according to the state Department of Community Affairs.

Finally, building positive relationships between residents, the governing body and merchants would create community involvement in promoting Keyport as a destination, Bolte concluded.


Courier Publisher Jim Purcell contributed to this story.