East Lansing business owner Richard Hall has seen many businesses come and go during his 30 years in town. Lately, he’s seen a few more going than coming along Grand River Avenue. Hall, a co-owner of Campus Barbers Inc., 621 E. Grand River Ave., said he doesn’t believe the vacancies are caused purely by poor economic conditions.
“There are a number of businesses in transition and a few that just didn’t have the best of luck,” Hall said. “Either way, empty storefronts don’t help business.”
Within the past month, Flats Grill, 551 E. Grand River Ave., and Johnny’s Lunch, 101 E. Grand River Ave., both have closed their doors. And since last summer, East Lansing has seen California Juice Company, 549 E. Grand River Ave.; Memo’s, 321 E. Grand River Ave.; BTB Burrito, 403 E. Grand River Ave.; and E.L. Moe’s Firehouse Grill, 565 E. Grand River Ave., shut down.
The closings since summer have contributed to the more than a dozen retail vacancies along the stretch of Grand River Avenue between Abbot and Hagadorn roads.
Grand River Avenue typically sees some turnover of businesses. The difference this year is that successful businesses are going under, said Tim Dempsey, a community and economic development administrator for East Lansing.
“There are always businesses that come and go. A lot of them going under has to do with the marketing and products and being undercapitalized,” Dempsey said. “But in this economic state, we’ve seen some businesses that we’re a little more surprised by, like Flats.”
College town cushion
While the economy is putting strain on businesses across the country, downtown East Lansing is doing well compared to other local areas, Dempsey said.
College towns are in a position to support many successful businesses, said Douglas Cron, managing partner of Cron Management. But to be successful, businesses must find a niche.
“You have 40-some thousand students, and if you’ve got the right product, you’ll make it,” Cron said. “A place like Neiman Marcus just wouldn’t work here. It doesn’t fit the student population.”
Still, with the number of restaurants closing, traffic to established retail stores takes a hit, said Paul Pickell, manager of Moosejaw Mountaineering, 555 E. Grand River Ave.
With the East Lansing community buffered from the severe effects of the economy, empty storefronts are continually filled, said David S. Ledebuhr, president of Musselman Realty.
Musselman owns the building formerly inhabited by E.L. Moe’s, between Division and Bailey streets. The building has remained vacant since Oct. 3, when E.L. Moe’s closed. However, Ledebuhr said he doesn’t believe Musselman will struggle to fill the space.
“Even with the few empty spots, we have several businesses looking at picking up the leases,” he said.
Cron said developers are trying to make downtown as appealing to small businesses as possible.
“Would I like to see everything full? Yes,” he said. “You’re going to have turnover, people are going to try different businesses, some work and some don’t.”
Smaller struggles
Small businesses face unique challenges in marketing and creating name recognition, a problem often magnified in locations with a transient population, said Michael Rogers, vice president of communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan.
Despite the challenges of marketing, funding out-of-pocket and lacking the protection of an umbrella company, small businesses hold several advantages over national corporations, he said.
“They can be nimble on their feet, and make changes immediately without having to go through executives,” Rogers said. “If they can take advantage of this, the entrepreneurial ideas can help sustain the small businesses now.”
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Still, small businesses need some help in the form of federal and state government assistance, he said.
Rogers said the government previously has put up barriers against small businesses, but is working toward easing restrictions.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed legislation last week that protects small businesses from $43 million in taxes by providing a two-year waiver on interest from borrowed funds. President Barack Obama also announced Monday his decision to provide $15 billion dollars in aid for struggling business owners.
Dempsey said East Lansing is doing its best to work with local developers to make the area marketable and keep small businesses open.
“We’re always continuing to try and help businesses come up with innovative ways to support the market and existing businesses,” he said.
“We just have to be patient and East Lansing will be on a recovery soon.”
