Goodbye Mary Jane

I have to do some serious work today so won't be posting much, but I do want to make a brief comment on the closing of Mary Jane, as talked about in depth on Tom Salemi's blog (you can click on it from the new fancy blog list).

I last year spoke with Lisa Carigg, the owner of the little shop that sells clothing and shoes for women and girls and she was all upbeat - had nothing at all bad to say about the landlord, New England Development, or whatever it was calling itself then. It's Newburyport Development now.

(Strangely, a few weeks ago I saw Ann Lagasse walking around town with 2 or 3 men; they were down on Water St., in the bank, and on Pleasant St., right outside Mary Jane.)

Is it good business to rent out a space to a new business that carries the same brands as a tenant you already have? It seems that no matter how supportive you are of your landlord (who is raising your rent to astronomical heights) you do not get any loyalty in return. But I don't see that many people shopping in JL Coombs, or whatever it's called, either.

This is the second store on that side of Pleasant St. that has closed its doors in 2008, and the third on the street. I sure hope Greta (of Greta's Great Grains) is able to hang on. Everthing else in that block of buildings is disappearing fast.