More News

As the recession wears on, businesses in Old Town Takoma Park are making fewer sales, but consumers seem more dedicated than ever to supporting local shops.

By relying on promotional festivals and events like the Old Town Annual Sidewalk Sale last weekend, small locally-owned shops along Carroll Avenue have managed to attract enough customers away from larger area chain stores to at least endure one of the worst economic recessions in U.S. history.

"[The sidewalk sale] is one of the many things that we do, like running concerts at the gazebo, or on the side of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Co-Op to introduce more people to the city," said David Eisner, who has owned the House of Musical Traditions at 7010 Westmoreland Ave. since 1972.

"Maybe this is the reason you are initially looking at Takoma Park, but maybe you'll continue to come back because it was a safe, productive buying experience," he said.

Even as the stores in old town are looking forward to the 28th annual Street Festival Oct. 4 — an event that drew up to 15,000 visitors to Carroll Avenue last year — signs aren't as optimistic for the nearby Safeway grocery store chain at 1101 University Blvd., which will close Oct. 10 at 6 p.m., according to Safeway spokesman Greg TenEyck.

"The grocery industry is a very, very competitive industry and we operate on very thin profit margins," TenEyck said, adding that the store, which opened in 1960, was losing money. "This store was not performing on a level that was profitable."

TenEyck was quick to add that no employees will lose their jobs in the closing and will instead be relocated to one of the other 22 Safeway chain locations in the Montgomery County area. The supermarket will lease the space to another as yet unannounced grocery chain, TenEyck said.

Meanwhile shoppers flocked to the Takoma Park Farmer's Market – another of old town's ongoing business draws – on Sunday, with the odd customer occasionally peeling off to take a closer look at the wares set up on nearby Carroll for the sidewalk sale.

Kimberly Fountain, who lives in nearby Takoma D.C., carried her freshly purchased vegetables over from the market on Laurel Avenue to eye the stands set up outside Moonshadow Antiques and Collectibles.

"I usually go to the farmer's market on Sundays and I try to come [to Moonshadow] at least once a month," she said, explaining that the weekly farmer's market was her main reason to visit the area, but she often stays to peruse the shops.

"I'm supporting my community and I also like to support local businesses," Fountain added.

She said she prefers to buy her produce locally "where I know it's fresh, as opposed to having been shipped halfway across the country first."

Katy Gerhard, who grew up in Takoma Park and now lives in nearby Silver Spring, agreed that her "buy local" mentality takes precedence over convenience or lure of big chain stores. She took advantage of the reduced sidewalk sale prices at Moonshadow Antiques Sunday to buy her 17-year-old daughter a birthday present.

"I told myself, ‘I could find a nice piece of jewelry at a shopping mall, but I'm going to go to the antiques store in Takoma Park first,'" she said. "I love these small shops and businesses and I want them to stay open."

Elizabeth Brinkama, a manager at the Now & Then gifts and crafts supply store on Laurel Avenue, said the she and her fellow businesses take note of loyalty trends among locals, and are very appreciative.

"If there's a silver lining it's that we've seen more and more that our customers are coming in and talking about the importance of shopping local when they can," she said. "You really feel like your customers are invested in your success and well-being and it's very rewarding."