By: Alex Spadacenta ’17

Mom and pop shops are what built small suburbs, like Westport. Getting a matzah ball soup from Oscars and picking up a set of paints from Max’s Art Supplies were part of a typical day in Westport in the past. However, unfortunately due to the rent costs of downtown Westport, the smaller locally-owned stores have been forced to shut down with larger brand-name stores taking their place.
More and more stores and restaurants have been closing in town, including Neat, Oscars, Max’s Art Supplies, Aqua, The Red Barn and many others.
The variety of these local businesses is one of the great features of Westport. Walking around Westport, locally-owned businesses include restaurants, sports equipment stores, hardware stores and flower shops. Other smaller enterprises also include tailors and shoe repairs, but as rent prices rise, all of these businesses are struggling, forced to either close their doors or raise their prices.
Larger corporations unfortunately don’t seem to establish a personal relationship with the people of Westport. While Gap and LOFT have great selections of clothes, there is no connection to the customer and so there is a little less trust in what one is buying and if it is really the best fit.
Groove, owned by Staples mom Corri Neckritz, is one of the few stores left in Westport where the personal connections still exist. Neckritz knows just about every customer by name, even if they have only been in the store once before. It is important to know and trust the staff from whom one is buying clothes and while Urban Outfitters and Brandy Melville are notable brands, they don’t provide much attention to each person. Groove and other stores like it create a sense of community which stems from the comfort in buying everyday items from acquaintances around town.
I’ve grown up in Westport my entire life, and I have experienced firsthand what the changes to downtown have done. I used to be able to go to Main Street and grab a slice of pizza from Westport Pizza, a hot cocoa from Oscars and stroll on over to Oddz to shmooze through the clothes, not feeling overwhelmed by the amount of people in the store. But now I have seen downtown Westport go from a more homely feeling place to an outdoor mall.
Local businesses are an integral part of Westport citizens’ everyday lives and should not be overlooked. Westporters must actively support the town’s small businesses, or else Westport’s unique character will eventually disappear.