West Lebanon
Winter storms, the growth of online shoppers and traffic on the notoriously busy road all could have hampered West Lebanon stores, but many owners on Thursday said they’re headed for another year of positive earnings.
“We’re doing quite well,” said Elizabeth Joyce, owner of Country Kids Clothing in the Powerhouse Mall. “The warm weather early this fall kind of threw us off a little bit. I wasn’t sure how things were going to turn out, but business has been really good all December.”
Joyce attributes some of the store’s success to shoppers looking to support local businesses. Being within walking distance of other stores also is a plus, she said.
“We do benefit from being in a mall with other great stores because there aren’t any other malls up here,” she said.
The same could be said for Nature Calls and Bonkers!, two toy stores both owned by Liz Staples and located in the mall.
“This Christmas season is about equal to last year,” Staples said. “I think out of everything, the internet is our biggest competitor, but it’s nice when people remember that they need to shop locally.”
Weather often is a large factor in whether people will come out to shop in person, said Elke Reichelt, district manager of Clay’s, a women’s clothing store. When a snowstorm blew through the region last Saturday, she assumed people would opt to stay indoors and that sales would take a hit as a result.
“That’s really the only thing that’s held shoppers back — the snow,” Reichelt said. “We didn’t have any snow to contend with last year, really.”
But sales are on par with years past and she’s noticed an uptick in traffic during her daily commute.
“On my way out of town, there’s been a lot of traffic,” Reichelt said. “Just in the last couple of days I’ve definitely noticed a change.”
With its mix of big-box stores, restaurants and smaller shops, Route 12A acts as a busy hub for Upper Valley shoppers. About 17,110 cars travel the road on an average Saturday, according to 2013 statistics from the state Department of Transportation.
The mix of small local shops and big-box stores drew Kerry Rosenthal and her mother to make the drive from Woodstock to hunt for gifts on Thursday. Together, they sought out stocking stuffers for family and friends.
“There’s not that much else around here,” said Rosenthal said, who was toting a Kohl’s bag. She said she does some local shopping close to home, but acknowledged there’s a benefit to shopping in chain stores, too.
Dana DeAngelis also was shopping in West Lebanon on Thursday, searching for clothes and toys for her young daughter. She drove almost an hour to get to the Upper Valley from Spofford, N.H.
“It’s nice to just see the stuff rather than ordering online,” she said. “You never really know what you’re going to get until you see it, so it’s nice to shop around and see what’s there.”
Lebanon Police Lt. Rich Smolenski said traffic builds up on Route 12A this time of year, but not like it did a few years ago, before a yearslong construction project reshaped the interchange with Interstate 89.
“Prior to them doing the construction down there, it used to be a nightmare,” he said.
Several officers used to be posted in the area to help manage the gridlock before the $20.3 million project, Smolenski said. Although police still have a presence, they’re no longer called upon like they were years ago, he said.
Traffic lights in the area now are better timed, and a tunnel that runs under I-89 between two major shopping plazas does a good job of reducing traffic, said Jeff Peavey, who owns The Country Cobbler, located off 12A.
“I’ve been on this strip for 35 years and this is the best (traffic) I’ve seen since before the construction,” he said. “You get (backups) for a little bit, but not as long of a period.”
Unlike some of the other Route 12A shops, The Country Cobbler hasn’t seen sales as high as last year’s. Peavey says the snow is possibly to blame.
“The two storms that we had last week held people out,” he said. “(Sales) haven’t made up for it, but we have two and a half days left, so who knows what will happen?”
Even if traffic is lighter than it once was on the road, BJ’s Wholesale Club is hoping there will be enough drivers to use its newly built gas station on Route 12A, which are the only pumps on the south side of the interstate in West Lebanon.
On Thursday, the station’s attendant was constantly outside his booth, helping customer after customer as they struggled to figure out how to work the pumps.
Gary Neil approached the attendant around 1 p.m. to ask for help with the pump’s scanner, which wasn’t reading his membership card. (Nonmembers can buy gas there, as well, but members receive discounted prices.)
“Lots of people are doing it in the wrong spot,” the attendant said, as he made his way to the gas pump. He then took Neil through the motions of scanning his BJ’s membership card, paying for and pumping gas.
“The prices were lower, and I’m already in West Lebanon and I’m already a BJ’s member,” said Neil, owner of the Quechee Gorge Village shopping mall. “Technically I just re-upped my membership because of the gas.”
Blake Barker, of Thetford, also used the pumps for the first time on Thursday.
“I think it’s great because there’s no other gas stations around this way, except the one by the interstate,” he said. “It’s great, especially if you’re going to Wal-Mart or shopping.”
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.