Big Dollar Store Closes

Two years ago, Plaintalker noted the opening of a dollar store in the former Eiseman's Lighting space. Last week, it was empty.

A forlorn stuffed pig is among the remnants of merchandise still to be glimpsed inside. This building now has eight apartments above the store, which would have been a good match for the store. It is a Paramount property, one of many that has had a retail turnover since the company bought up most of the commercial space downtown.

Some merchants left due to high rent increases when Paramount first took over. Plaintalker has suggested that city officials need to be in dialogue, if they are not already, with this company that dominates the commercial property of Plainfield the way Connolly dominated the multi-family residential market.

Perhaps dollar stores are not the highest goal in any business retention move on the city's part, but one wonders whether there is a finger on the pulse of commercial activity in the city. A database of city employers on the state web site has quite a few outdated entries, as does the SID roster. In the late 1980s the idea of a business registration plan was floated, but it was discarded after merchants protested the proposed fee. Another time, summer interns were supposed to develop a data base of businesses.

Having been intrigued by the PMUA's often-quoted claim to be the city's fifth largest employer, Plaintalker recently tried to find out who the other top employers are. At the top of the state list there is a business purportedly on Reeve Terrace that employs 5,600 people and has annual sales in excess of $1.2 billion. More likely to be true are the many listings for businesses that have from 1 to 4 employees and generate much more modest revenue.

Muhlenberg is still on the list as an employer. The school district is not listed as a whole, but is broken up into individual schools. A fraternal lodge and a taxi company outstrip the PMUA, which comes in at number 13 or 14 on the state list and is described as having only four employees.

Maybe it is because this list was compiled by an Omaha, Neb. firm that it has anomalies such as an entry for Solaris at 1340 Park Avenue, described as a place where narrow fabric is woven when in fact it is a nursing home.

Granted, it is very difficult to keep up any data base, as even correct information usually starts going bad as soon as it is written down. At best, a directory may only a snapshot in time. Time constraints no doubt prevent City Hall staff or other entities from doing the legwork that would result in a true picture of the changing business landscape. Still, both job seekers and entrepreneurs would benefit from having an accurate local source for business information.

--Bernice