The Express-Times reports that the Nazareth News Agency has not re-opened following the holidays and that owner Heidi Wisner is evaluating her options (read the article here).
The News Agency opened in 1928, Wisner bought the business in the summer of 2006 and turned it into a coffee house and lounge with live music at night, but kept the coffee, newspapers, and magazines for the mornings.
Now she is evaluating if she can reopen under new management or sell.
7 comments:
The better question is does anyone even care. How could that place be viable? They turned it into a magnet for a bunch of derlects without any money.
I went in to buy a magazine that I always used to get there and they don't carry it. Not sure who their target market is, but it seems like a flawed business plan.
johnbilltom is way out of line. I am dissapointed and saddened that the News Agency closed although I can understand it. It must be very difficult to operate a profitable business in the downtown of Nazareth for so many reasons and I feel for the business owners trying to make it. Nazareth is a very conservative place. Only certain types of businesses can exist here. I fear that the next victim will be the Studio Fun business as I very rarely see any activity inside.
We need to support these local businesses, not shun them as "magnets for derlects." Go to East Lawn Supply or Naz Hardware instead of Home Depot. Get supplies from Rid-ET, get a tattoo, your palm read, some Chinese food, etc. The town is depending on us.
The News Agency injected a shot of hipness into the downtown that I guess the town was not ready for.
The NDA has an uphill climb.
The truth is that Ross and I both drove the Nazareth News Agency out of business. Our blogs have become so effective that people have stopped buying newspapers.
I could not resist that.
I live right by the news agency, and it was no "magnet for derelicts with no money." But Mike did try to change it from a straight news agency into a "lounge" where people could congregagte, and they did, young and old. Usually, the younger crowd came later in the day.
I liked some of the changes he made. The idea of having a place for bands to play was nice. The Tuesday night open mike night provided a venue for someone who wanted to try new material. The magician was fantastic.
But I think there were also some big mistakes. Instead of being a place that you could set your clock to, it became a place that might be open one morning, closed the next. It might be open one night, closed the next. Hours were not plainly posted. People who relied on the store for newspapers became bitterly disappointed bc Mike simply couldn't come to terms w/ the Easton News Co. Towards the end, there were no papers at all. On weekends, a lot of folks like to stop there to grab a paper. They might pick something else up or visit another store. They might stop by Kate's Garden cafe for breakfast. But thaey can't do that when the place is not open.
In the end, I'd blame Mike, not the public. He just was too erratic and was not open enough. People who came in were not happy to see him sleeping on a couch. It's very hard to make a small business work, but I think that place could work if Mike had regular hours and stuck to them. People in Nazareth would have warmed up to those evenings of music, which were alcohol free and quite nice.
In addition to the Java Lounge, Dutch 'n Such has also gone down the tubes. That's another place that could have worked.
The Chinese restaurant and the video repair shop seem to be fine. The fellow who does TV repairs is from Pen Argyl, and tells me he loves the foot traffic he gets.
As far as the Karaoke place is concerned, it needs to come down to earth. The prices it charges for parties is ridiculous. Check it out.
I certainly agree with johnbilltom, the place was a hangout for the wrong crowd. Mike started cooking over at Dutch N Such because the owner couldn't. He also started sleeping on the floor of the so called restaurant at times.
Bernie...you paid $16 for Meatloaf dinner at Dutch N such? WOW! Hamburger, onions, breadcrumbs, eggs, seasoning. This isn't Manhattan. There is no wonder the place is out of businness.
It is sad to see Nazareth lose some of their business's,the laundry-mat is an eyesore in that part of town.The restaurants are few and the ones that are here are not good.Dutch and Such wasnt that good,, the Pit Stop Deli had some really good sandwiches,Peps place had really good food and then the new owner took over and gave it a bad name, the new Chinese place is good , very clean. You couldnt pay me a million dollars to eat at Lillys Tacos again, bad food ,dirty smelly place, and workers who are rude! Someone delivered a menu at my place of business from Lillys with all these coupons and now they are advertising BYOB.Guess business is bad. We have enough bars in town to drink at! I hear the place maybe closing anyway, thank goodness. We need to get a nice restaurant in there.
Just to comment on some of the comments made about Studio Fun: We are not a "Karaoke Place", we are a novelty music studio. Our party prices are not ridiculous - the prices are in line with all the other Lehigh Valley Birthday party destinations. We also have higher priced parties for those "special occasions". Our prices reflect the type of customer we want to attract to our business - we cannot be everything to all people. If you think our price for a birthday party ($275) is ridiculous, then I'm not sure where you have been for a birthday party lately. For opening up only three months ago, we are doing pretty good. Most of our business takes place on the weekends. Bernie O'Hare was right, you should come check us out, but not to criticize, but to see what an amazing place we have! Also, check out our website, www.studiofun.biz, and you can read all the comments of all the people who have had parties there. Not one person mentions anything about "ridiculous prices". In fact, most customers have commented to us that they get so much for the price they pay.
One of the reasons we chose Nazareth to open our business is to be in a place where we can help revitalize the business area. What are you all doing to help? Have any of you invested hundreds of thousands of dollars? Or have any of you said anything positive about any of the businesses in the area?
I would like to hear how many of you do visit and eat at our local restaurants in town.I am excited to eat at the new Brazilian one.I love the new Chinese restaurant,Lilly's Tacos is fine for a quick burger, I don't really care for her Mexican food it's not authentic and not spicy enough. Sad to see Dutch and Such go,it was a cute place went for our anniversary .My family and I LOVE the block party, it gets everybody together for a great day.
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