>Monday, August 31, 2009
Last updated: Monday August 31, 2009, 7:30 AM
BY ELAINE D’AURIZIO
The Record
STAFF WRITER
https://www.northjersey.com/news/Businesses_thrive_on_miracle_mile.html
POMPTON LAKES — Marlo Cappiello gazes out the big windows that pour light into her corner clothing boutique off Wanaque Avenue. The walls are splashed with giant posters of Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe — and framed photos of customers.
“It’s disarming, very cozy next to a train station, isn’t it?” Cappiello asked, curling up in a big, stuffed chair in her shop, Savvy Threads. “It was always my dream to open a dress shop. Then I drove by and saw all that natural light.”
A growing number of imaginative entrepreneurs like Cappiello are bringing their dreams — and unique personalities — to Wanaque Avenue, the borough’s busy 1.25 mile stretch that runs from Hamburg Turnpike to Ringwood Avenue.
Meanwhile, construction for a makeover — the Pompton Lakes Downtown Streetscape Revitalization Project — is expected to begin in October.
“We have just under $1,400,000 in federal funds and a commitment from the borough’s BID [Business Improvement District] of $175,000 for streetlights,” said Vito Gadaleta, borough administrator.
Merchants along this avenue of dreams are excited about the renaissance. They include Ric Karak, co-owner of The Krike Outlet, a fine china gift shop that opened in October with customized cutting boards, linens, etc.
“It’s a sleepy little town that has the potential, especially now with Streetscape, of becoming a Ridgewood or Montclair, but not the price point,” Karak said, noting his inventory, usually sold in high-end stores, sells at 30 to 80 percent off retail. “With the horrible economy, we’re finding people are entertaining more at home, and our shop is great for the perfect hostess gift.”
Curiously, as Pompton Lakes seeks to renew its faded downtown, it is the old-fashioned, small-town feel and the uniqueness of the shops downtown that lure these unusual shop owners. You won’t find them in malls where the rent is higher, but it gives them an opportunity to try their own thing, to become part of a community, fill empty stores, and bring in tax revenue.
According to municipal tax records, building owners along Wanaque Avenue from Hamburg Turnpike to Cannonball Road paid about $1.3 million in property taxes in 2009.
“These people with dreams help the economy of downtown,” said Gadaleta.
Besides filling buildings with rent-paying businesses, the entrepreneurs keep the street lively.
Cappiello, who worked in marketing for Christian Dior and Chanel in New York, put “shopping companion” on her business cards. “People actually call me for my opinion even when they’re shopping elsewhere. They hug me, send me photographs — they’ve become friends.”
Gifts confirm it: a lamp, a coat stand from customers. Cappiello, who had serious health problems in 2001, opened three years ago. “My heart is really here in town,” she said. “I pick out clothing for my clients. I want them to feel as if this is their closet, to feel different when they leave.”
No big malls for her. “I like the SoHo feel with the girl-next-door comfort.”
Karak, a banquet manager for 26 years, said Pompton Lakes “reminds me of Mayberry” — the mythic and iconic rural hometown on “The Andy Griffith Show.”
“I always wanted to open a gift store.” he said. “We [the merchants] all came in because it was affordable and because they’re planning to redo the streetscape.”
Across the way at Pre-Loved consignment boutique, owner Karen Donofrio of Wayne opened June 30 with her daughter, Alli, because the avenue reminded her of shopping with her mother in Jersey City in the 1960s.
“It brings back good memories,” she said. “I wanted a shop, but Wayne rents were too high, and we didn’t have that kind of funding available.”
Roberto Perez’s dream to own Tony’s Touch of Italy, where he worked for 18 years, became a reality three years ago when the owner sold it to him. Now it’s bi-culturally offering not just Italian food but also tacos, burritos, and nachos from his native Mexico.
“I like the town; it’s small, but nice,” he said. “I know all my customers. I know their names by heart.”
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https://www.northjersey.com/news/Businesses_thrive_on_miracle_mile.html
