Dear Editor:
Any resident of Parsippany reading of the closures of Michaels, Vitale’s, and Habit Burger, surely did so with sadness, whether one is a patron of those businesses, or not. The closure of small businesses marks a pause in achieving a dream or the pursuit of happiness for our entrepreneurial neighbors as well as a weakening of Parsippany’s social fabric.
These closures are a vital reminder to each resident of Parsippany that the best way to watch out for our neighbors is to support their businesses with our wallets.
We all make scores of daily choices on how we spend our money. For example, each Saturday I purchase the weekend Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. The FT is not sold at most newsstands and for many months, I have bought these papers at News Café on Baldwin Road. At $11 each Saturday, that adds up to $572 coming to one store from one resident. There are two places in Denville that sell the Financial Times. If the News Café is out, I will go there, but my mindset is to give first shot to my neighbors in Parsippany.
Imagine if every adult in Parsippany shifted $1,000 per year to businesses in Parsippany that they were previously spending elsewhere. Assuming 40,000 adults in Parsippany, that would be a $40 million infusion into the Parsippany economy. That is substantial.
Supporting local business is also about quality of life. Recently a friend of mine and I were reminded of some of the culinary gems in our town. In contemplating where to go for dinner, we considered places in Morristown, but the news of Vitale’s was at the back of our minds and the Gourmet Café came to mind, as did Capisce Trattoria and Eccole. Previously, taking out dinner from the Gourmet Café for my family was a great decision that was met with enthusiastic approval at home. This choice reminded us of the culinary gems in our backyard.
The neighbor-first mindset applies on the national level as well. People may be paying slightly higher prices for imported goods because of tariffs. But if behavior changes and more Americans become gainfully employed due to that changed behavior, that is an outcome worth paying slightly more. That is watching out for our neighbors on a national scale.
Small businesses are the foundation of our community. Let’s not wait until they are gone to appreciate them. I challenge my fellow residents to look at their own spending habits—where can you shift your next spending decision back to a Parsippany neighbor?
Jack S. Raia
