In this week's edition of the Journal and Topics we read about Rising Costs Send Johnny's Place Packin'.
The article reports the owner "[Mr. John] Nasiopoulos made it clear he did not want to leave Park Ridge, but cited a rent increase and rising taxes as two reasons he had to leave.
"It (the increase) was almost $1,000 a month," he said. "I either had to raise my prices to the point where I aggravate my customers... or I buy garbage product," he said. "And I never considered reducing the quality of the product."
The PRU Crew recalls many other businesses that have closed up or moved on from Park Ridge -- Happy House, Bailey's, Walter's Restaurant, and Napleton Cadillac to name just a few -- for reasons that didn't seem to have much to do with the constantly cited "Park Ridge is unfriendly to business" complaints we hear from members of the Park Ridge business community.
We've also heard complaints from businesses that landlords in Park Ridge need to adopt a more realistic view of the rental market, which seems to fit the bill in the case of Johnny's Place.
We are very seriously wondering how exactly Park Ridge is "unfriendly to business." Does the business community experience insurmountable difficulty when trying to open a business here? What are those difficulties? Does the business community find shoppers in Park Ridge particularly tight with a buck? Did the Chamber experience any up-tic in sales during their "Shop Local" campaign?
Anybody got any insights?
We ask because we do not expect the economy to get much better any time soon, and more importantly we also hear rumors that another large business player in town could be having some serious problems.
Every time our town loses a business that closes or decides to relocate out of Park Ridge, and then invites Park Ridge consumers to follow them out of town without the lost business having been replaced by some other tax generating entity, taxpayer's here will feel the pinch. Given the City's current financial position, these losses are felt more deeply than they may otherwise have been.
If City government is truly an impediment to new businesses opening in Park Ridge, we would hope that members of the business community would grab their brass and speak up. You can't fix problems you don't know exist.
We have yet to hear anyone in the business community articulate the precise issues that may make doing business in Park Ridge difficult or more difficult than in other places.
We're all ears.
June 25, 2009
Relocation, Relocation, Relocation!
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22 comments:
It is hard to be a small business in a small town. There are so many stores with more product very close by. There are also stores that compete on price which is particularly important in todays economy. Many people who live in PR shop elsewhere and some who are loyal to stores in PR are buying less. On top of that, there is little to draw people in from other towns for a day of shopping in Uptown.
Having said all that, I too am not sure what PR (government) has done to be considered "unfriendly" to business. I would bet that many of the small businesses in downtown Niles, Skokie or even Highland Park and Lakeforest are going through the same thing.
Johnny's is my freakin place man. Nothing beats the owner saying "Ehelo Boyz" when you walk in the door. Whether it was walking in here as a middle schooler getting yelled at by the owner or being treated as valued customer and friend Johnny's was the spot. It's a shame that they were forced out. Long live the cheezy fry.
I have experienced the "unfriendliness" of the City MANY times. While I understand that there are rules and regulations created by the City for a reason, the nitpicking and focus on certain businesses over others is very very obvious.
There are CERTAIN people at City Hall who are hired to be a liason between businesses and the City. They are unapproachable and unavailable to talk to.
As I have said MANY MANY times to the mayor, we, the people, are the "customers" of the City. The City employees really need to get this. I won't say they "wouldn't have a job if it weren't for us," but we need to work together towards a common goal of success for each business. Stop making things so difficult.
And for God's sake, get someone who knows the definition of "economic development."
Sorry, I know the truth hurts...
Do you think Johnny's place leaving might have to do with increased competition?
Park Ridge is the king of the lunch crowd...we have numerous sub-shops...two new restaurants that are quick & easy for lunch that opened in the new construction project uptown...and I believe a new hot dog/hamburger place opened its doors right at the same intersection as where Johnny's Place currently sits.
I'm sure the other points are valid...but there might just be other factors at play.
I agree here with several key points.
Also - unfriendly - is the key word here too.
Why can't just some of these do - gooders swallow their pride and admit.....
that we have issues here that need
addressing.
- Flooding
- Businesses leaving
- Air pollution
- Noise pollution
Just to name a few!
Gypsy:
Please flesh out your comment. I am not saying you are wrong and, as I do not run a business in PR, I have no experience with this.
What exactly have they done (nitpicking if you like) that has had a negetive effect on PR businesses?
Is the questi0n how is Park Ridge business friendly vs otherwise? Compared to what? The City of Chicago or Cook County, where we enjoy the highest sales tax in the country. Property taxes that have unfairly burden northwest suburban properties that held FMV better than other parts. Our governments spending their way to prosperity has burden every citizen with this economic meltdown that caught all our political leadership asleep at the switch. There is a growing feeling that all of us are becoming indentured servants of our clueless and rudderless political leadership at every level. Get in line Park Ridge City Council
I will miss Johnny's, although it should not necessarily be viewed as any kind of benchmark for what may be wrong with Park Ridge's business climate because I agree with one of the other posters that I have heard very few concrete examples of what exactly is wrong with it.
But this discussion also highlights why the Higgins Corridor re-development may be the key to helping juice up our revenues.
The problem with Uptown is that it's tough to get to for anybody coming from outside Park Ridge: Touhy is not very good, traffic-wise, and the closest main N-S thoroughfare is Harlem, which is often a nightmare. So unless we have something REALLY GREAT in Uptown to make it worth the effort it takes for outsiders to get there, we can't expect Uptown to do much retail-wise to generate sales tax revenue.
The Higgins Corridor, on the other hand, has ready access to the Kennedy, which alone makes it vastly superior to Uptown. And since it's at the edge of town on the border of Chicago, there are some natural synergies there that Uptown doesn't have.
Today's Public Watchdog raises some interesting points about how we should be looking at Higgins. I'm not sure I agree with all of them, but we need to start discussing it.
"natural synergies" - BULLSHIT
"pollution" - BULLSHIT
"factors at play" - BULLSHIT
"Johnny's is my freakin place man" - not bullshit
"work together towards a common goal of success for each business" - COMMIE BULLSHIT
Capitalism? Competition bringing excellence? Seem like dead concepts. Hell, look at some of the BULLSHIT on this blog.
Anon 10:29 knows what's up and it aint our leader's business acumen.
Shit sandwiches for everyone until ecoli kills off the weak and the majority is once again owned by the strength of freedom seekers, not security seekers, which is what we have become.
1:00--your screeching bitterness would be really comical if it wasnt so sad.
9:08--
the rules set by the City for businesses should be followed, I am certainly all for that.
BUT...they should be enforced for everyone equally. One should not be allowed to have different signage than another. One business should not be "monitored" for inspection more than another.
And the relationship between the people at City Hall who are SUPPOSED TO BE working directly with the businesses should actually visit the businesses. Have a relationship with them. Actually have a list of phone numbers of all the businesses, email addresses to send them updates on stuff. Why do they have to ask others for this information, look it up on the internet or get it from another source?
I cannot get into specifics, as that would focus on a few businesses who are under the microscope.
Like I said before, in this economy and at all economic times, they should be working together to succeed.
While it's important to have a vibrant downtown I'm not all that concerned about those living outside PR come here or not, it's the residents that are the most important.
Of course I'm sure it helps but with the new development and the increased traffic kind of makes me uneasy about any extra traffic.
Mike:
This is another example of to each their own. If a person wants PR businesses to be successful then they need traffic - they need customers. I do not know if just PR residents are enough for these businesses to survive. If some of these businesses do not survive, we end up with an unattractive uptown area with emply store fronts (as is the case to some degree now). We also end up with a lower tax base.
I find the arguments people make about traffic to be very amusing. We live in a city that is boardered by Chicago and many other northwest suburbs. Touhy runs right through Uptown (along with Northwest Hwy). Even if we do nothing to Uptown, even if we flatten it and make a parking lot, there is still going to be a great deal of traffic. If you are frustrated by the traffic, move to the far out suburbs. It is going to have to be the very far suburbs because traffic sucks in Palatine, Deerfield, Naperville etc. If traffic really bothers you perhaps you should try Iowa.
Mike,
who said we are focusing only on Uptown? ALL of the businesses in the city limits need to be taken care of equally!
Well Duh!
I didn't say we were only focusing on Uptown.
Some others mentioned it so I was just commenting on it and I wasn't arguing that we shouldn't take care of all the bussinesses in town.
Think before you start shooting off you mouth.
Has anyone commenting here actually read the newspaper article or the PRU commentary about it? The City was NOT cited by Johnny, even though the former Mayor hounded Johnny's staff to remove signage for a competitor of Rosemary Mulligan's, and staff refused. Our excellent and responsive economic development officer, Kim Uhlig, was not cited as the problem. Neither was our Health Inspector. Who was cited? The LANDLORD. A private businessperson himself. All over town, greedy landlords, many of whom inherited the land several generations back, are gouging tenants and taking awards as civic leaders with no sense of their own hypocrisy. Johnny's was a vital institution, providing excellent, clean food at a low price. My kids and I genuinely mourn its loss. We talked with Johnny and his staff before they left and despite my rigorous probing, there were no factors cited in the move that involved the City, only the landlord's insistence on getting the same gouge-o-rama rent the new hot dog seller across the street is paying HIS landlord. I hope the hot dog seller is able to pay that and the no doubt ever-increasing escalation so he can serve our families for 20 years as Johnny did. Landlords who want to get maximum-plus rents, even if it means a poor mix of retail or only short-term tenants with no community investment, are within their legal rights. Capital rules, remember? But impossible rent is the elephant in the living room, and let's not pretend otherwise. Talk to the landlords next time the little businessman who funds your kids' baseball team says he's outta here.
Park Ridge requires even home-based businesses to pay for an annual business license - and what exactly are they getting for their $20 except hassled every January?
Also - if you want to try selling mail-order items from your location in Park Ridge - add 10% sales tax for all orders shipped to customers in Illinois. Enjoy competing with the guy operating out of Trenton, Illinois who will charge them 6.25%.
And lastly - try opening a massage parlor or strip club in Park Ridge, and see how unfriendly things get... or even worse - try to deliver taxi service to our residents! (shudder)
Our council is only interested in businesses that make this a nicer place to live, which is ok, but heaven help you if you don't fit their ideas of what makes things "nicer".
(You can see the tax breakout at:
https://www.revenue.state.il.us/app/trii/servlet/TRIInquiry/
For Park Ridge, IL:
General merchandise 10.000%
Rate consists of the following:
State Rate 6.250%
County Home Rule 1.750%
Home Rule 1.000%
Regional Transportation Authority 1.000%
For Trenton, IL
General merchandise 6.250%
A few years back, several members of the Anderson 9 -- gasp! Democrats! -- tried to get a second cab company into Park Ridge to provide some healthy market competition, but no dice. In the most recent election, some Park Ridge cabbies were dissing Candidate Dave to their captive customers, one can only assume on behalf of the former Mayor.
The market is a knife; you can grab the blade or the handle -- or have it, like greatness, thrust upon youse.
anon at 11:26, even if you do mail order, there are legal ways around charging the 10% tax. It just requires a little thinking out of the box. Also, please note that Park Ridge does not require it, IL does, as IL is one of the few states, (there are only 7) that is home rule for tax purposes. While Daley will fight like hell to keep it that way, IL will fall far behind if it doesn't go to a destination based tax structure. The future is in the Internet, and home based rule taxation does not work with the Streamlined Sales Tax Project.
Did we mention.....BULLSHIT!?
anon 10:46:
Seems like we always need to find a villain and, clearly you have found yours - the landlords. You acknowledge that landlords are business people but then you fire off words like greedy, gouging and Maximum-plus(what the hell is that???)
The landlord made a business decision and time will tell if he made a good one or a bad one. His decision will be reflected in his pocket book. He attempted to charge what he believed the market would bear and now he has an empty space to lease. Johnny's made a business decision as well. He looked at his margins and decided to go elsewhere. Perhaps his business was affected by the compitition across the street or even the new hot dog stand in Uptown or Jason's or maybe even the economy in general.
But if you are expecting a landlord to reduct the price he believes he can get for his asset to avoid a poor retail mix in Park Ridge you live in a dream world. Would you sell your house for less than what you perceive as market value?
You recommend that I talk to the landlords. What exactly would you like me to say them?
Here is a quote from the Park Ridge Herald Advocate from 2006 as seen at:
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-110D5468005C6458.html
They could also choose to be truly business-friendly and lower the rate.
But hey - we're still better off than Chicago business owners. They get employee headcount taxes and special equipment lease taxes.
Quote follows:
------------------------------
Park Ridge shoppers and diners will pay more in sales tax beginning July 1.
The City Council on Monday voted to waive two readings of an ordinance to increase in the city's home rule sales tax rate from .75 percent to 1 percent. The council then approved the increase by a vote of 11-2, with Aldermen Kim Jones and Rex Parker voting no.
The increase in the tax rate will raise the city's total sales tax rate to 9.75 for food and beverages purchased in restaurants and 8.75 percent for retail goods. The increase is projected to generate an additional $300,000 annually for the city.
The tax increase will not apply to most groceries, as well as prescription and non-prescription medications.
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