By ROBERT LINNEHAN
Steve Duross wants to make something perfectly clear. The Kings Highway merchant — owner of Duross and Langel — is not closing his business in January because of a beef with the Partnership for Haddonfield. No, the store is closing because of economics, pure and simple, he said.
But that’s not to say the partnership has been very helpful in his opinion, Duross said.
“I want to be clear. One has nothing to do with the other. We’re leaving Haddonfield because of economics and a lack of foot traffic,” Duross said. “Haddonfield is just not a good fit for us.”
But communication between the partnership and downtown businesses can definitely be improved, Duross said. Several other business owners in town backed Duross’ opinion and criticized the partnership for its lack of services to existing merchants in town.
Established in 2004, the partnership was created to “encourage self-help and self-financing programs within the business community, enhance the commercial viability and attractiveness of the business district and promote growth and employment within the Borough” according to the group’s website.
Duross said it can be a frustrating experience to feel as if you don’t have a voice within the partnership.
“I do know that the frustration of most of my neighbors is that they feel like they don’t have a voice within the partnership,” he said.
Susan Hodges, president of the Partnership for Haddonfield, said the group holds monthly meetings and informal coffee get-togethers, open to all business owners in town, to improve the downtown business district.
Not many business owners take advantage of the monthly meetings though, Hodges said. The partnership creates new events, strategies, and plans for the downtown at these important meetings, she said.
“We have so many events in town that the partnership puts forward. We host so many of these throughout the town and that certainly helps foot traffic,” she said. “We do First Friday, the Antique Auto Show, the Fall Festival, the craft show, and the wedding walk. They’re very popular.”
In addition to the downtown events, Hodges said the partnership has increased support for the popular Haddonfield gift certificate program, sends out a monthly email blast hyping sales and events to over 7,000 registered shoppers, and recently hired a new communications firm to increase Haddonfield’s publicity.
She pointed to the 95 percent occupancy rate in the downtown as a great statistic for the success of the partnership.
“Everything we do is geared to assist all of the business owners in town,” Hodges said.
But not all business owners agree with Hodges’ assessment. Wendy Kates, owner of Stardust Memories on Tanner Street, said many businesses on Tanner Street have been frustrated with the lack of publicity for their stores on the “forgotten street” of Haddonfield.
“I don’t think they (the partnership) have done a good job of reaching out to merchants in town,” she said. “Nobody has asked us for our ideas on how to improve business.”
Ed Strojan, owner of the British Chip Shop on Kings Highway, agreed with Kates and said communication needs to be improved between the partnership and merchants. The meetings are tough to get to, he said, because they’re typically early in the mornings.
The partnership could also do a better job of bringing in more creative events to town, he said, pointing to the First Friday events. Every town does First Friday, he said, and the crafters brought in to sell their goods don’t do a great job of attracting people downtown.
He did compliment the annual Arts and Crafts event held in June. The event is fantastic, he said, and brings in a ton of business to the borough.
It’s easy to criticize the partnership during a bad economy, said Mel Fendt, Accent Studio co-owner. Fendt was the chairperson of the marketing committee on the partnership from 2006 to 2008.
The fact of the matter is, Fendt said when she was the chairperson of the committee very few business owners gave the partnership feedback or suggestions.
“If more business owners would take time and participate in the partnership, it would be even better,” Fendt said. “The partnership is only as good as the feedback it receives from the business owners.”
She pointed to the Maple Shade downtown and the Moorestown Mall. They’re practically “ghost towns,” she said, while Haddonfield’s downtown is always bustling.
She urged business owners who want to participate to visit the partnership’s website or to attend the next meeting.
The next Partnership for Haddonfield meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 8:30 a.m. at borough hall. The partnership does not meet in August.
