It's beginning to feel a lot less like Christmas these days with five-day forecasts solidly stuck in the 50s, but for local merchants, those temperatures, combined with heavy in-town foot traffic, seem to given a boost to the local economy.
But with any positive economical swing, there is invariably a counteractive force: January. In the retail business, January often represents a doldrums period where the consumer is burned out from spending, and many shops and restaurants are left waiting for business to rebound. This year, however, some retailers expressed optimism for both the holidays, and the New Year.
"We were busy, and there's always more business during the week before Christmas, but I still have plenty of orders coming in for the New Year," said Edwige Fils-Aime, owner of the Little Chef Pastry Shop on South Tulane Street, adding that simple foot traffic had also increased, partly because of a higher volume of people, but perhaps also thanks to some recent improvements to the streetscape.
The shops along that stretch of Tulane, much like those on Chambers Street and Spring Street, are often the overlooked, but well appreciated, stepchildren of the Borough's Central Princeton District. But this year, a street improvement effort similar to the Shops at Nassau Chambers campaign could bring more life to Princeton mainstays like the Princeton Record Exchange and John's Shoe Shop. New signage near the corner of Nassau and Tulane, as well as banners that are visible from Nassau Street, seem to be doing the trick.
"A lot of people were already out shopping who didn't realize we were here," Mr. Fils-Aime said, adding that while the banners were effective, it would have benefited his shop and others had the signs been installed earlier. "I've been getting a lot of people down here — before, you couldn't see the storefronts from Nassau Street."
"We had a good December, a good Christmas season, and it's likely that it was a result of the weather," said Andrew Mangone at Hinkson's, the Office Store, on Spring Street. "There are a lot of people in town, and we've been busy. The scene at Hinkson's was just like any other day, with manager Lou Peredes and owner John Roberto on the showroom floor helping walk-in customers looking for particular items, while Mr. Roberto and Mr. Mangone took turns manning the back office, handling larger client orders.
For Hinkson's, a downturn in business, if any, doesn't last particularly long once Princeton University students begin filtering back into town. "We'll feel a little bit of a slowdown, but overall, January is usually a good month," Mr. Mangone said, pointing out that unlike other retail businesses, a slowdown does not set in until about March.
However, for some in the food service, the holidays are not necessarily a time of economic prosperity. Shops like Abel Bagel on Witherspoon Street, which relies heavily on its pre-workday rush, suffer a stall with the holiday season, when regular workdays become staggered. Increased afternoon foot traffic is not necessarily good for business. Store manager Florence Deetjen explains:
"Most of our business is very concentrated in the morning, and you see the same faces here day in and day out. We're impacted by vacation schedules more than anything," she said, observing that the absence of students is also part of the slowdown. "For us, it's almost the opposite than for a lot of the stores in town.
"There were a lot of people in town, but it just doesn't affect me as much."
Ms. Deetjen said that catering orders do increase over the holidays, however.
Looking decidedly relaxed after what could be the most hectic of holiday seasons, Michael Greco, who co-owns the do-it-yourself craft shop Red Green Blue on Hulfish Street with his wife Karen, said the holidays proved to be time when business was turned up a notch. Now a seasoned veteran to Borough retail, Mr. Greco, whose shop is in its second full year, grinned as he recalled more parents and children coming into the store as the vacation week wore on, a potential result of that domestic phenomenon: cabin fever.
"It's a busy season for us, especially that week when school's out. It's interesting, business started trickling Monday and Tuesday, but then by the end of the week, we were swamped."
Mr. Greco said he hoped business would remain solid through the winter months with his shop offering "a good cold weather activity," but with the tepid temperatures, he said, it's anybody's guess.
"If it ever snows again in New Jersey, we'll definitely be open."