While a majority of the businesses in Plainsboro’s town village seem to be riding the rough economic waves, there are signs that the economy has taken its toll on at least two of them.##M:[more]##
Cold Stone Creamery in the new Village Center recently shut its doors, and the store has been cleared out. Meanwhile, across the street in Plainsboro Plaza, the locally owned Ace Hardware, which goes by the name of G2h Ace Hardware, has posted signs on its windows, asking its customers to shop for products there, or else it will be forced to the same fate.
According to the store’s owner, George Pluhar, it has not been the recent economic downfall that has caused the problem, but rather that since opening in July, 2006, business has not been half of what it should be. “I’m not going to go out of business,” Pluhar says. “I’m going to leave. I get more people from out of town during lunch, and they tell me they wish they had a store like that in their town.”
A brisk business during the week — mostly through contractors and those who live out of town who visit the store during the week — does not offset the weekend sales, when only local residents are in the area.
Pluhar says he was even reluctant to talk to the media because he is not trying to advertise to draw people in to keep his business afloat. Rather, “it’s just that maybe, I don’t fit here,” he says. “But I don’t want anybody telling me after I leave that they wish they would have known, or else they would have done something. It’s nothing personal.”
“It’s been three years now,” since opening the store, which is not a franchise (all stores are independently owned), Pluhar says. “My prices are much better than most Ace stores.”
Pluhar says he actually “started trending down in the second quarter, whereas up until then, I was trending up.” He says he can understand lower sales per customer, but “I can’t understand the customer count going down. I would think people would value an hour more with their family than saving 50 cents on a product,” after driving to a big-box store further away.
However, Pluhar says he is saddened by the possibility he may leave town. “I do have a pretty loyal fan base,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s not large enough to sustain this business, and I feel sad about that. We have good customers, and unfortunately, they’re the ones who have to hear the news.”
“I’m doing my best here,” he added. “I know it’s a quality store. It’s a unique store. I have products that you can’t find in this state, let alone in this town. If people don’t want to come, I’ll just go.”
Resident Judith Baymiller has been so upset by the news that she is trying to get the word out. “I just need to do something because we can’t afford to lose these people,” said Baymiller, a regular customer. “It’s so important. The Home Depots and Lowes — they don’t offer what we need as a local village.” She points to other nearby mom and pop hardware stores, like Cranbury Hardware, that have recently caved under economic pressures.
“We have a village center,” she says. “Pretty soon there’s going to be nothing in it. I’m there all the time. I love that place, and I would cry if they left.”
What sets aside the G2h Ace Hardware from the rest? While it is a smaller store than the typical “big box” hardware stores, Baymiller says the products are more specific to what a person’s local needs might be.
“The staff is very helpful because they’re very knowledgeable. If you have an electrical problem, if you have a gardening problem, they’re there to help you, and they give you very specific help.”
She says that while products may not be as expansive as the big-box stores, they are of higher quality — and “cheap is not always good.” Baymiller recalls taking a piece of her siding to the store because she needed to match the paint. The employees plugged the piece of siding into a computer, which told her exactly which shade of paint would meet her needs. On another occasion, “I had an electrical problem, and he said, ‘I’ll fix your lamp for you,’ and he did,” Baymiller said of one of the store’s employees. “Can you get that at Home Depot? I don’t think so.”
Meryl Miller, who serves on the homeowners association board at Waters Edge, says she has a highly satisfactory experience every time she patronizes the store, both personally and with regard to homeowners association matters.
“Just personally, and from our homeowners association, because we purchase many things from them as an association, I have always had customer satisfaction,” she said. “They give me technical information and suggestions and have ordered things, and I don’t have to drive down Route 1 in the traffic.”
She says she has experienced great service from every employee at the store — once they even matched a paint color for her that was not listed on the Benjamin Moore paint color list. Another time she had to order 32 mailboxes for the community, and was able to determine which mailbox would be the best type to order, which would last the longer, and which would be the most economical to the association, “and it was ordered and shipped, and somebody drove it right over to our storage shed,” she said.
Miller has sent an E-mail to Township Administrator Robert Sheehan and the Township Committee asking for whatever help they can provide. “And we’re going to talk to George,” the owner, she says. “We have a whole list of marketing ideas.”
“We’re just tired of losing all these stores here,” she says. “We plan to contact the landlord of the shopping center.”
Both women are urging residents to support the local shop. “The prices are right, the service is great, and you walk out with a smile on your face,” says Miller. “And you save gas money, but it’s not only the gas money — it’s your time and your convenience.”
Baymiller echoed the sentiment: “This kind of a jewel is something we need desperately. We need to generate interest as a community.”
Pluhar, who does not live locally and who owns 50 percent of another hardware store elsewhere in the state, says he does not know how long it will take before he decides whether to stay. “I have another location in mind that’s nowhere near this place,” he says. “If the shoe doesn’t fit, there’s no reason for me to continue. It’s an expensive hobby.”
He says either way, he’ll survive, but he also feels sad for his employees, who “go out of their way to really make this store an extremely pleasant environment for anybody who comes in. Even when we can’t solve a problem, we guide customers to where they can solve them.”
“Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” Pluhar says. “I’m not begging for business. It’s a quality establishment, and I think I should have enough business here, so let’s see what happens.” — Cara Latham
