Nov 12, 2007

How to fight big-box stores, grow your business and winBy Pamela Sroka-HolzmannC-N.com

A downtown business can start with a good idea, but successful owners also need strategic marketing plans, the hardiness to compete with big-box retailers, and a product — and atmosphere — customers find unique, Central Jersey business owners say.

A successful merchant, they add, also must have the business savvy to read the fine print on municipal ordinances, understand a town’s rules, and know the various regulations — even those for displaying signs — that can impact a store’s presentation and visibility to potential customers.

But still, all of this can be a risky business.

For three years, Pete Vazquez owned Uncle Pete’s Latin Cuisine on Main Street in Flemington. He had a loyal base, and the restaurant was named one of the Top 100 People, Places and Things To Do in the Garden State, as voted by New Jersey Life Magazine.

But in February, Vazquez opted to close the business. Now, another ethnic restaurant is trying its luck in the same location.

“Frankly, My Dear — A Hot Dog Emporium,” also had high hopes of making it in the small borough, which houses about 4,200 residents, but it, too, closed just days after Vazquez’s closure. Steve Roll, who ran the restaurant with his wife for more than two years, had said he couldn’t overcome an increased sales tax and soaring bills that gnawed at profits.

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