Category — Waban

Daddy’s Junky Music officially closed its doors this past Wednesday, shutting the door on one of the last truly local chains of guitar and musical instrument stores in the region. In talking about why this small regional chain failed, Fred Bramante (the chain’s founder) noted competition from online retailers as the prime reason. By buying online, customers saved paying sales tax (ironic perhaps as Daddy’s first store was just over the line in NH in a specific bid to draw Massachusetts customers for tax savings). While Daddy’s is more of a Boston institution, local Newton merchants like the Boston Running Company, Big Sky Bakery & Café, and New England Mobile Book Fair have either closed or are seeking to transfer to new ownership.

Yes, the economy is certainly somewhat to blame, but not entirely. And, since the UPS truck still drops off boxes from Amazon and Zappos throughout our city, what does it say about the commitment to our communities if we lose the merchants and stores that we love? How do we justify allowing the businesses that we wax nostalgic about to disappear?

Local merchants provide goods and services that we need and that are specifically tailored to the local market. In many cases they provide the essential foundation upon which the community itself builds. How many of us recall and treasure the bookstore, coffee house, diner, hobby shop, or even a record store that featured prominently in our lives?

Local merchants are active participants in the community themselves. They are as tied to the community as we are to them. It is much harder for them to pull up stakes and move to a different town than it is for a chain store. Since their success or failure is so tightly wound with that of the community, they are often exactly the ones most willing to invest in that community, through sponsoring local events and helping to fund things like local streetscape improvements.

Yes, the internet is convenient and cheap, but the community loses if that is the only place we shop.

So there are a few things we can do about this. Some of them involve changing regulations to try to either make things easier for merchants or to make it harder for chain stores to come into our village centers. However, this also seems to ignore the basic market reality of the situation.

Local merchants are only successful if people buy their food, services, and goods. Local stores are worth a second (or even a first) look. When you need a lightbulb, try stopping by Swartz or Waban Hardware. Need a book? Try browsing Newtonville Bookstore. The coffee and baked goods at l’Aroma are at least as good as Starbucks, and they have better teas.

Or better yet, try spending a weekend afternoon walking through Newtonville, Newton Highlands, Nonantum, West Newton, or Newton Centre and sampling the stores along the way. In between an excellent lunch and a few fine cups of coffee, I think it very likely you’ll find some new favorite haunts, and maybe even make some new friends along the way. And, you’ll enjoy yourself and help to maintain the village life that makes our city great.

Tony Moreira, who teaches technology courses at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, has posted an article about a series of items he’s hidden around Newton as part of a “geocaching” project, a scavenger hunt that require the use of GPS technology.

He’s hidden caches in 13 different village locations — even in Thompsonville. (Given today’s forecast, I’m hoping some are located near ice cream vendors.)

Moreira writes:

Childhood memories were the inspiration for the hides, and while looking for each cache, be sure to take in the local sights, shops, and check the cache’s listing at the geocaching.com website for interesting historic information about each location.

The Waban Library Center will host an evening of art, jazz, food and wine onto help fund the continued operation of the center, which was reopened by volunteers in 2009 after the city closed it and other branch libraries. The suggested price of admission is a $75 gift to the center, which is tax deductible.  The center operates under the direction of the Waban Improvement Society, which dates back to 1889 and operates today as a 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer organization. The

The event on Saturday, May 7, will feature works of art by Marge Minkin, music by jazz musician Len Lyons, food catered by Whole Foods Market, and wines by Vinodivino. The Waban Library Center is located at 1608 Beacon Street, a short walk from the Waban T stop (on the Green Line D).  For more information, call 617-244-0700.

A futurist view?

File this under “wishful thinking,” but… [Read more →]

With help of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council, the Waban Improvement Society and Alderman John Rice, we are proud to announce the publication of our Guide to Planning a Village Day. (Also, we want to say a big thanks to volunteers Sean Pears for writing the booklet and Betsy Blazar for designing it!)

The Guide outlines all of the moving pieces that have to come together to make a street fair work in Newton.  Although many of our villages have a Village Day or the equivalent, some still do not.  We’re talking to you: Newtonville, West Newton, Auburndale…. What are you waiting for? And as you ponder the possibilities in your own village, don’t forget to check out Upper Falls’ Heritage Day this Sunday.

As I hope everyone knows, Newton Highlands’ Village Day is tomorrow.  To the unwitting observer, this would seem unrelated to the recent beautification work I observed a couple of weeks ago.

In fact, the two are intimately connected, and made possible through the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council (NHNAC).

[Read more →]