April 27, 2005

We're fragile, Warwick merchants say

   By Mike Dawson
   Times Herald-Record
   
Warwick – With its picturesque streetscapes, hallmark antiques stores and, yes, its gourmet bakery for pets, it's a safe bet that many in the region, even those who live here, think the Village of Warwick is a shopping destination for those with too much money to burn.
   
A robust marketplace? Sure. But maybe a tad too cutesy. Maybe it's a place you visit once in a while on a random weekend if the weather is nice.
   
It's just like Sugar Loaf, but with sidewalks. Right?
   
Wrong, say some very worried Warwick merchants who are banding together to invigorate the local economy.
   
In the past six months, Main Street sales have sagged, merchants say.
   
"I believe we're right on the tipping point," said Michael McDermott, owner of The Bookstore, a Main Street store. "People think Warwick is this great place, but no one realizes just how fragile the economy is here."
   
Warwick needs daily foot traffic. It's not all arts and crafts. You can still buy a light bulb here.
   
With specialty shops like the whimsically named Frazzleberries, it's easy to forget that the Village of Warwick is home to three banks, two pharmacies, two electronics stores, bookstores, clothiers, a dry cleaner, two self-serve laundries, a card shop, a stationery store, two coffeehouses, 10 hair salons and barbers, liquor stores, lawyers, Realtors, engineers, tax consultants, insurers, a video store, martial arts studios, a gym, pizza parlors, two Chinese take-outs, a Burger King, a car dealership, a couple of auto mechanics and three gasoline stations.
   
It's this eclectic and practical mix of merchants and services that makes Warwick unique, said Mayor Michael Newhard, who is co-owner of Newhard's, a Main Street gift shop.
   
"What we have here is a classic model of downtown Main Street," Newhard said. "But we have to work to keep it balanced. The minute you turn your back on it is when it'll really disintegrate."
   
In response to fewer shoppers, McDermott, along with Newhard and many of the village's merchants, are set to join the American Independent Business Alliance. The alliance is a national, anti-big-box store advocacy group whose aim is helping independent merchants bolster their businesses through marketing and awareness campaigns. Such a campaign in Warwick could kick off this summer.
   
What merchants are hoping to gain from the alliance is more local people shopping locally, regularly.
 
So many people fall in love with Warwick and move here, but when they shop, they drive to Middletown or New Jersey, McDermott said.
  
 "People need to realize to sustain what makes Warwick Warwick, what makes it this great community, requires local support," McDermott said.
   

©Times Herald-Record 2005

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