Port Richmond: Small Businesses Surviving In a Corporate World

https://vimeo.com/20203820]

Port Richmond is a neighborhood filled with unique, family owned shops. These “mom and pop” stores are part of what makes this community special to its residents. This community’s family-owned businesses have been around for years and are distinct in what they offer to their loyal customers. Despite their histories and the numerous customers that frequent them, these small stores are competing with the national chain stores from the corporate world. This competition is just a few blocks away on Aramingo Avenue, which is lined with the popular corporate chain store names such as K-Mart, Pathmark, PETCO, Jiffylube, Dunkin Donuts, and Pizza Hut.

Gus Bauman, owner of Hecker’s Variety grocery store, has witnessed the changes that his store has undergone in competing with the bigger businesses in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond section.

“Years ago, you didn’t have supermarkets,” recalled Bauman. “You had little, corner grocery stores. Once the supermarkets started to come into the city or start to evolve, it became tougher and tougher.”

Bauman’s store, located on the corner of Venango and Mercer Streets, has grown and adjusted, evolving in order to keep up with the larger businesses coming into the neighborhood.

“People didn’t want to go to the supermarket for one or two items and stand in line for 45 minutes. So slowly, but surely, we [Hecker’s Variety] started to add groceries.”

Although places like Pathmark supermarket may be larger and offer more products, Bauman tends to the needs of his customers in his own way. He is willing to serve them at any time, no matter how close it is to the store’s opening and closing hours.

“They [customers] can walk in here at ten minutes to eleven at night and say ‘I need a pound of cheese,’” said Bauman. “No problem, we’re cutting you a pound of cheese. They’ll [customers] go into a supermarket at 8 at night and they can’t get lunchmeat. Why? I don’t know.”

Some of the products at Hecker’s Variety, like the “American Hoagie,” are also offered at a lower price compared to other products. It consists of three different kinds of meat, two slices of cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles.

“It’s a very big seller because people will basically compare it to something that is at Wawa, where they’re charging them five-something and we’re charging them $1.25,” said Bauman. “It’s really something.”

Venango Auto Service, located on East Venango Street, has also been affected by the corporate businesses in the neighborhood. This store is one of the dwindling number of corner tire repair shops left in the city. Although it competes with the big name auto shops, Venango Auto Service only performs tire work. In addition to fixing and repairing tires, Bob Wilkowski, owner and sole employee, sells new tires as well. However, this wasn’t always the only service offered to its loyal customers.

In the late 1930s, Venango Auto Service used to be a full functioning curb gas station. In addition to supplying gas, its services included tune ups, as well as starter and alternator services. However, this changed when the state asked Wilkowski to get rid of his gas tanks.

“I think because it’s [the area] residential,” recalled Wilkowski, “It was more, I think, the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] than anything. A lot of times during the summer you could see a little haze coming out [of the tanks] and they were about two stories high.”

Despite this drastic change in service, Venango Auto Service is the place that many residents still go to if they’re experiencing trouble with their tires.

Not all small businesses in Port Richmond compete with large corporations.

Steffen’s Pet Center on Allegheny Avenue has been in business for 22-years. Although it has some competition with the PETCO on Aramingo Avenue, the relationship between the two businesses is almost complimentary.

“They’ll [PETCO] send people down here, we’ll send people there,” said Pat Moritz, an employee at Steffen’s. “Certain things like, for example, the Frontline. We sell individual packets. They only sell three or the whole thing. They’ll send people down who only have enough money to buy one.”

Although these small, family run businesses acquire devoted customers over time, the corporate businesses are slowly hurting them. There are many places that these businesses can turn to if they need help or assistance in any way.

The Office of Business Services (OBS) under the City’s Department of Commerce helps to aid businesses that need this kind of assistance.

“Essentially, we are a one stop shop, if you will, for business, small or large,” said Bob Collazo, senior manager of the OBS.
Although the OBS is available to businesses, State Representative John Taylor (R – 177th District) thinks that most family owned businesses in Port Richmond are not involved with any city programs.

“Businesses and investors that are a bit more sophisticated use PIDC (Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation) and some of their loan products,” said Taylor.

The RCA (Richmond Corridor Association) and PRIDE (Port Richmond Industrial Development Enterprise) are two organizations within Port Richmond that work to better the businesses in the area as well as promoting a friendly work environment.

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“In our family, you’re either a baker or a carpenter,” explains Kris Stock, manager of Stock’s Bakery, located on Lehigh Ave near Mercer Street.

Following in the path of her father, grandparents, and two brothers, Kris Stock became a baker. In a way, she had no choice. She was immediately put to work at the age of 11 once her grandmother, Frances, discovered her proficiency at decorating cakes. She hasn’t looked back since.

Kris Stock and her brothers, Frank and Mark Stock, are the fourth generation working in the bakery and they won’t be the last. The children of both brothers currently work in the bakery. Although she is still young, Frank Stock predicts that Kris’s 12 year old daughter will also come to work at the family business.

Despite the success of the Stock family, there are pros and cons to owning a family business. Like the aforementioned bakery, the business can stay within the family and pass through generation after generation. However, the problems exist if there is either no one within a family willing to take over the business or if there is merely no descendants/relative of the owner to take it over.

Gus Bauman, owner of Hecker’s Variety, has no siblings. With no children of his own, the fate of the store his parents opened in 1945 is uncertain. Despite this, Bauman is not the only employee at Hecker’s. There are currently nine people who work at the variety store part-time. The question is: can any of these people take on the responsibility of running the store?

Both Steffen’s Pet Center and Venango Auto Service are faced with similar problems. While all of the owner’s children worked at the pet store in the past, the current employees are not family. When asked what will happen upon their retirement, long time worker Pat Moritz simply said, “I don’t know what will happen.”

Bob Wilkowski works at Venango Auto Service alone. His father acquired the former curb gas station from its previous owner in the mid-1950s. Wilkowski took over ownership of the auto service shop in 1990. As the sole employee, there is currently no one with Wilkowski’s level of experience to take over the shop.

Even though many of the Stock’s currently work in the bakery, there are those with no family relation working behind the counter and baking. These employees start in high school and work during the holidays while in college. They demonstrate the same level of dedication exhibited by the faithful customers. “If you weren’t family when you started working here, you pretty much are after you’ve been here a while,” said Kris Stock.

Just as there are generations of Stock’s working at the bakery, there have also been generations of employees working there. “We had a mother, and both her son and daughter have worked her,” Kris Stock recalled. Customers at the smaller businesses become generational as well, because they tend to return on a regular basis. “I’ll have people who used to come in with their grandfather,” explained Wilkowski.

Czerw’s Kielbasy on Tilton Street has also been passed down through the family. It started in 1938 when Polish immigrant Jan Czrew opened Philadelphia Provisions. The business was passed down to Thadedus Czerw, who later passed it down to his three sons: John, Dennis and Jeffrey Czerw. The name has since changed but the recipes and the family behind the business have stayed the same. While all three sons work at Czerw’s Kielbasy, they still recruit friends to help them during the busy holiday season.

Most of the family owned businesses have a small staff. Steffen’s Pet Center only needs a total staff of five people, to run the store. Of those five people, only one person, the owner, is full time. During the busy season, Stock’s Bakery enlists the help of former workers and friends.

Corporate businesses do this as well by hiring seasonal staff, however, they usually have a large staff. At PETCO, for example, there are approximately 25 to 30 people working there at all times. Although smaller businesses can’t compete with the large staff of corporate businesses, the former’s fan base is a lot more dedicated.

There’s a level of customer loyalty the corporate businesses can’t match. As the smaller stores have been around longer and provide specific services, people are more likely to return. If they like the product or service they received they will keep coming back as long as the store stays open. With the larger businesses, customers don’t necessarily return to the same exact store, because another store is available. Consumers will travel to different locations if they know they can get what they’re looking for. This is where smaller businesses excel.

The small business customer knows that what he or she wants cannot be purchased elsewhere. This consistency creates a family among those in front of the counter and those behind it.

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