PASCACK VALLEY AREA, N.J.—New Jersey and nationwide, a much-debated question among business owners and business advocates is whether the traditionally busy holiday shopping season will be enough to sustain struggling local businesses, restaurants and shops.
While a vaccine may begin to become available in late December or January, most health experts predict it will not be until spring or possibly summer 2021 until enough people get the vaccine to create herd immunity to the novel coronavirus.
Nearly 30% of restaurants and diners have gone out of business or shut down and many local merchants have seen revenues dip dramatically, said Marilou Halvorsen, of New Jersey’s Restaurant and Hospitality Association. She predicted up to half of restaurants and dining establishments may close due to the pandemic’s impacts.
Generally for small business owners, the two months leading up New Year’s Day often bring in the mother lode of sales and profits, say chamber of commerce officials.
This year, as winter approaches and outside dining ends, chamber representatives urge residents to consider supporting local eateries by ordering takeout for curbside pickup.
Also, with indoor dining limited to 25% of occupancy, restaurants will be hard pressed to eke out enough profit to survive, she said.
While restaurant owners and statewide associations and the Pascack Valley Mayors’ Association have called on Gov. Murphy to increase indoor dining capacity, any short-term relief appears unlikely due to increasing covid outbreaks, suggested chamber officials.
Also looking to assist business owners and others hurt by the health crisis, a bipartisan congressional group of 25 Republicans and 25 Democrats known as the Problem Solvers’ Caucus recently proposed a $908 billion stimulus bill.
The proposal was made to help kick-start debate on a new federal pandemic relief package, said caucus co-chair Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), which covers portions of Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties. The caucus was formed in 2013, in response to the rise of the Republican Tea Party wing.
In early December, Senate Republican leaders were talking about a compromise relief bill totaling $550 billion to $700 billion, with a possible vote before the congressional holiday recess. The caucus’s proposal included $288 billion to resuscitate the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) to help small businesses such as restaurants.
Small business Saturday on Nov. 28 came and went, with some shops seeing increased foot traffic. Promotions to shop local to help boost “Main Street” shopkeepers appeared to make a positive economic impact, some local businesses told Pascack Press
However, state health officials were urging residents to avoid large crowds outside and inside that might increase chances for Covid-19 transmission. In late November, Murphy limited outdoor gatherings to 25 people and earlier in November he limited indoor gatherings to 10 people.
And despite much support pushing Murphy to open up indoor dining to 50% of capacity only a month ago, before cases surged, Murphy left indoor dining at 25% capacity.
“It’s going to be a tough winter. The vaccine is not coming to rescue us until later this winter so the question is: will it be in time?” asked Michael Fitzsimmons, secretary of the Westwood Chamber of Commerce, on Dec. 3.
He said the chamber has produced two videos promoting local businesses, and placed both on social media and a cable TV news station to help drum up customers.
“It seemed like the town was doing a little bit more business,” Fitzsimmons said of a recent holiday weekend. He said most local businesses had taken big economic hits this year due to monthslong spring shutdowns when the pandemic began and slowly returning customers.
He cited promotional efforts spearheaded by Celebrate Westwood as being instrumental to driving customers to local shops, including recent Share the Joy, Shop Small and Shop the Hub outreach efforts.
A recent Facebook promotion features a snowy downtown Westwood decorated for the holidays as Michael Buble croons a Christmas classic.
Only six weeks ago, 10 Pascack Valley mayors urged Murphy to re-open indoor dining to 50% capacity, citing eateries in neighboring Rockland County that were then operating at 50% for months. No action was taken, though Murphy said then he was mulling increasing capacity by 10% increments if transmission rates stayed low. That did not occur.
“Eventually, you have to make the call and determine how long you can last and just how long you can keep [the business] afloat,” Fitzsimmons said.
He said Murphy’s limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings, and capacity restrictions, “are definitely not ideal” and local businesses need another round of federal/state stimulus funding to survive.
He said he understood the health rationale for restrictions during a pandemic but all kinds of businesses may never recover from the shutdowns, closures and lack of customers.
As owner of Westwood Gallery, he said if annual business was down only 20% at year’s end, he’d see that as hopeful. “I would say that what we’re all trying to do is make up what we lost this year if possible. If I’m only 20% down, then at least I’m moving in the right direction.”
Fitzsimmons said revenues were down dramatically for his popular gallery this year and that he took out a loan that he hopes can be resolved by year’s end. He said he hopes “this should be a very good holiday season” and residents support local shops.
Township of Washington
At Washington Town Center mall on Pascack Road in Washington Township, property manager Alex DiChiara said the nearly 40 shops there appear to be doing better now as opposed to earlier this year when the pandemic’s initial shutdowns hurt business. The DiChiara family has owned the mall property for 61 years.
“This property has always catered to the local neighborhood. It’s my job to create an environment that gives them the best opportunity to thrive,” said DiChiara. He said the continuing payment of rents by businesses leasing space at the mall indicates that they’re doing well and the economy is improving.
“When the rent comes in that’s the bellwether for me,” said DiChiara, who said he worked with tenants on rent bills following the spring pandemic shutdown. He said a diversity of stores helped to draw customers to the busy strip mall. An anchor tenant, the movie theater, has stayed dark.
Overall, DiChiara said, “I think things are going very well here.”
Park Ridge
After eight months in business, pharmacist and owner Amgad Wassef of Park Ridge Pharmacy, on Park Avenue, said that business was gradually improving and customers were increasing. He said his opening day, April 20, was the peak of spring’s covid outreak.
“We were a new place and nobody would risk it in that time of ambiguity,” said Wassef, empathizing with customers who were initially few and far between.
He said “traffic is certainly improving” and “word of mouth from customers is very encouraging.”
He said the new pharmacy offers flu shots, plans to offer Covid-19 testing, and looks forward to soon offering a Covid-19 vaccine. He said the store’s convenience and his friendly, service-oriented manner “makes the difference” between his pharmacy and a chain pharmacy.
He said he previously worked for a chain pharmacy. He said as the pharmacist and owner at Park Ridge Pharmacy he is able to give personal service and attention to customers.
Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce
Realtor Robin Malley, president of the Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce, said that her real estate business is doing well though covid’s impacts have reduced the number of agents over child care duties and some health concerns.
“We’re getting a lot of New York people moving out here to the Pascack Valley,” Malley said. She said low mortgage interest rates are partly driving the exodus from more congested urban areas.
Malley said while real estate is doing well, many other businesses are fighting for survival due to the governor’s shutdowns and capacity restrictions on restaurants.
Lower numbers of customers, capacity limits and the need for social distancing are factors that impact businesses, she said.
Montvale
Some area chambers have also begun programs to bolster local businesses, such as Montvale Chamber of Commerce’s “gift back” effort initiated this summer to award gift certificates to first responders when a customer purchases a gift certificate at a local restaurant or eatery.
Chamber co-chair Steven Fox told Pascack Press this fall that the program may be restarted during the winter months to help sustain local restaurateurs.