National retailers boxing out small-town boutiques

By Liz Sadler
The Journal News
November 21, 2005

RYE — Along the main thoroughfare in this quaint, suburban city, the character of the downtown business district has begun to change.

National retailers — like Sam Goody, Starbucks and Subway — have slowly invaded storefronts once occupied by small, independently owned businesses. It has become the talk of Rye, as chain stores and banks have replaced the one-of-a-kind boutiques and cutesy-named businesses residents love.

"It's disgusting. I've worked in this town for 40 years, and what I've seen in the last 10 years, it's terrible," said Gerry Piovesan, the owner of Poppy's Cafe, one of the oldest remaining businesses on Purchase Street. "When the Gap came in, that was it. It opened the door for all these others to come in."

All over Rye, residents and business owners are bemoaning the disappearance of mom and pop shops and the growing abundance of chain stores and banks. In July, the city banned new banks from the central business district to stem the problem, and recently re-elected Mayor Steven Otis has pledged to make downtown a priority in his third term.

Like other Westchester communities, Rye residents value their city's quaintness, but some say it is being threatened because high rents have chased many small retailers away. The agitation provides an insight into the mindset in many affluent suburbs, where residents
tend to value uniqueness, independence and customer service over the status quo.

"It's a bummer. I like the little mom and pop stores, and I try to support them as much as I can," Rye resident Lisa Miller said on a recent afternoon on the sidewalk of Purchase Street. "I'd rather support a Poppy's than a Starbucks."

Miller, 36, a stay-at-home mother of three, moved to Rye from Manhattan when she started a family. The quaint downtown was one of the attractions, she said, but now much of that old-school charm is gone.

"There's been a huge change. I've been here for eight years, and there's been an enormous change," Miller said as her 3-year-old daughter, Audrey, nibbled on a chocolate muffin outside the Rye Bagel Shop. "I think we're going more the line of Greenwich, as opposed to the really old, quaint Rye route."

It's a problem, in particular, in wealthy communities.

"In these economically vital areas, you do see chain stores wanting to come in there, because they have the population base, they have the economy, they have the consumer power," said Teresa Lynch, a program officer with the National Trust Main Street Center, a
Washington-based organization that helps communities with downtown revitalization.

Other communities in Westchester also have been waging the battle between the old and the new. Lewisboro, for example, bans fast-food restaurants, and Katonah rallied in the late 1990s to keep out a Starbucks.

Meanwhile, Mount Kisco has seen its share of chain stores open in recent years, drawing mixed reactions from residents. Some say the chains are forcing out the traditional independent stores; others say they've added some vitality to the downtown.

In Rye, the resistance to chain stores is not universal, and some say the city can strike a healthy balance between national and locally owned retailers.

To create a balance, the Rye Merchants Association is trying to attract more small businesses and bring some diversity to downtown.

"We're starving for certain things, and we can't figure out how to get them," said Jim Sullivan, a restaurant owner and vice president of the Rye Merchants Association. The city is without a men's clothing store, toy store and hardware store — businesses that
residents say the city sorely needs.

The merchants group has suggested expanding the central business district to include more side-streets and second-story retail, which would command cheaper rents.

"At a time like this, people tend to think you can't make it in this town anymore, which isn't the case," said Lisa McKiernan, president of the merchants association and co-owner of Ruby's Oyster Bar & Bistro with Sullivan. She said small businesses need to cater more to
the local market, which she described as "people from Rye who would like to stay loyal to downtown and need some variety."

Starting next year, Otis said, he plans to step up his efforts to improve the central business district by meeting with merchants, real estate developers and property owners to discuss the kinds of businesses needed downtown.

"We have to look at the business mix and try to bring in businesses that will help the diversity that we need to help keep the central business district healthy," the mayor said. "The goal is really what are we missing that would enhance Rye as a place for people to come and shop."

In Bronxville, a community that has maintained much of its quaintness, the village controls the look of the central business district largely through close communication with landlords, Mayor Mary Marvin said.

"When we see an empty store, we try to really make a connection with the landlord and give him a little history of what has worked and what didn't work," she said.

Other communities across the country have taken more aggressive measures by enacting laws restricting many chain businesses.

Miller, the stay-at-home mother, said she would support such a law in Rye.

"That could be the law — keep the quaintness," she said. "Who would not vote for that law?"