Dear Friends.

Once again, untruths are running wild on JCList. So, for anyone interested in facts, here they are.

1. The food trucks at the farmers' market were illegal under Jersey City law. (Do the research.)

2. Over twenty Downtown restaurants signed a petition (not just Two Boots) demanding that the HDSID discontinue the "food court" it had created, illegally, to fill its own budget hole.

3. The HDSID was violating its duty to it own members -- us -- by running a competing business.

4. The only reason the food truck "food court" could exist was the massive subsidy that it received in the form of below market rent using public space -- a subsidy that no brick and mortar restaurant receives.

5. Two Boots has NEVER complained about any competitor that has to play by the same rules we do. We have New Jersey's largest pizzeria (and restaurant) right next to us. We welcomed them and welcome any other competitor, chain or otherwise, so long as they don't receive government support that we don't.

6. We fully support food trucks parking in legal locations.

7. The farmers market is flourishing.

8. There are more eating options than ever in the Downtown.

Finally, probably none of you know this, but we came close to going out of business. During our first three years, we lost money. Now, thankfully, we are doing well, thanks to thousands of loyal customers and Jersey City's growth. But the point remains, that opening a restaurant is a very risky business. Sixty percent of all restaurants close their doors within three years. This is why people who invest hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions, of dollars in restaurants become emotional about unfair and illegal competition.

Lots of love,
Aaron

Hi JCMan and Friends:

I stumbled across this thread and couldn't stop myself from reading. Against my better judgment and my wife's counsel, I'm going to jump in to correct the record and then disappear. I won't engage in a back and forth. I've done that before to no good effect. This response is aimed at those who are new to the debate and might actually believe some of the untruths being repeated here.

1. Two Boots was joined by over twenty local restaurants in signing a petition to end the sale of prepared foods at the farmers' market. Two Boots was by no means alone. (My fellow restaurateurs are simply smarter than I and stay away from these threads.)

2. The location of the prepared food vendors/food trucks was and is illegal under Jersey City law. That law was enacted by your democratically elected representatives.

3. It was not City Hall that ended the "food court" on the plaza, but the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District which runs the farmers' market. They correctly realized that they shouldn't be running a business (a food court) that competed directly with their own members. And on that point, those who make the assumption that the food court didn't affect sales of local businesses do not know what they're talking about. It did.

4. Over 66% of the prepared food vendors at the farmers' market were from outside of Jersey City. They did nothing for the local economy. They hired few, if any, locals and contributed to no local causes.

5. For those libertarians among you (or those simply concerned with fairness), you might also be interested to know that the food vendors at the farmers' market were receiving a massive government subsidy. That highly desirable location (the best in the city) was ONLY available to them because it was government property that the HDSID could rent to them for a pittance. While we pay high market rate rents, the HDSID was providing that space for next to nothing. Is that fair?

6. Finally, any of you who think this is about greed needs an education. Several local restaurants have closed. Others are just getting by. It's a hard business. If you don't believe it, try it yourself.

7. Instead of talking about boycotts, you should support LOCAL businesses who serve great food, invest in the community and support the causes that matter to you. You shouldn't try to punish them because they insist on being treated fairly.

If you really care about the food trucks, lobby the mayor and councilwoman to find a legal location for them where they aren't receiving a massive government subsidy that none of us brick and mortar restaurants get. It would be great. I'll be the first to dine there.

Lots of love,

Aaron

Dear Rescue Life and Psyop,

I have no interest in re-hashing the farmers' market issue but I wanted to respond to your posts, which might have misled some JC List readers.

1. We were a proud sponsor of JC Pride. (We support many local groups.) We fed over fifty of their volunteers. They never asked us about outside food vendors and we never asked them to keep food vendors out. Nor would we have. Similarly, we have never objected to the outside food vendors who come to Newark Ave. for "All About Downtown" or indeed for any other occasional event.

2. Business has been great thanks to our many passionate customers and the throngs of people that our new, neighboring restaurants have brought to the street. Like us, they've made huge investments in the neighborhood, pay taxes and employ lots of Jersey City residents. So, we're incredibly excited about the Downtown restaurant scene and economy. As you should be too.

TBJC

Hey "Who Else Could it Be" or whoever you are. You don't understand the point that I and 20 other restaurants, including chains, were making. For the umpteenth time, the food trucks and stands were getting a massive government rent subsidy which enabled them to unfairly compete (in the best location in JC no less, during our peak hours) with both mom and pops and chains.

How many times do I have to repeat this simple and completely reasonable point?

Folks. Just to put the "we need to nip the problem in the bud" argument to rest, one need only look at Washington Street in Hoboken, arguably 10 years ahead of JC in gentrification. If you take out the banks and phone stores (which can really only be chains), chain stores amount to well under 20% of ALL stores. (I'm happy to share the data with anyone interested.) I would only repeat that this is a solution in search of a problem. Great PR but not a problem.

"One selling point of chain stores, in a city that?s losing its middle class, is that they can keep prices down. The neighborhood that first enacted a ban on chains, in 2004, Hayes Valley, has become so upscale that its own supervisor, London Breed, says she doesn?t shop there. People who live in the subsidized housing where she grew up, blocks away, ?don?t step foot? in the expensive neighborhood stores ?because they don?t feel comfortable there,? she told me."

The New Yorker on San Francisco's chain store ban. Read the rest of this really interesting piece at:
http://www.newyorker.com/business/cur ... ores-out-of-san-francisco

(Note that San Francisco's "ban" is much more permissive than the ban proposed by the mayor.)

As to Newport and the mall, they certainly like the mayor's proposal. It means their chain stores (which make up the bulk of their tenants) are stuck with them if they want to be in JC.

I found another article that is instructive and goes some way towards demolishing the myth that mom and pops can't compete with chains. (Apart from our own experience in metro NYC where indies proliferate.)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102086968

"San Francisco's tough restrictions on chain stores may be keeping rents lower for independent shop owners, but also may be boosting the number of long-shuttered storefronts, a study of the city's formula retail rules has found."

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article ... n-chain-store-5425639.php

And San Francisco's system is far less restrictive that the one proposed by our mayor!

Let's have a serious debate about this before it goes any further!

Yes to both of your questions Jersey Mom.

So this is another bizarre part of the plan. Certain blocks on Newark and Grove are affected, while others are not. At the hearing last night, Jeff Wenger could offer no good reason for the differing treatments from block to block. It's absolutely arbitrary and appears to be the result of a compromise. Fulop, apparently, wanted to go much further and Planning tried to hold him back. Fulop has already said that he is planning on extending the ban to more blocks. The arbitrary nature of the designations, I believe, makes it more vulnerable to legal challenge by a motivated landlord.

Hi Folks:

I see that we were mentioned in this thread so I thought I'd chime in, for whatever it's worth.

Two Boots is a "formula business" under the mayor's proposal and could not have opened in its present location. Since we got in three years ago, this proposed ordinance does not affect us. It also doesn't affect me because I'm not a landlord. So I have "no dog in this fight." Having said all of this, I couldn't be more opposed to the mayor's proposal.

1. This is a solution in search of a problem. As someone mentioned below, we don't have a chain store problem. Indeed, unless you want to drive to the mall, we have a dearth of shopping options downtown. Look at all the empty storefronts. Where is a great furniture store? Where are the men's clothing stores? Where are the shoe stores? We don't see independents opening them up. Why? Because the capital required is huge, and, unlike coffee bars and restaurants, it's just not that sexy. But we need these types of stores. Barring chains will only exacerbate the problem.

2. This was ENTIRELY the mayor's idea. I have it on unassailable authority, that he proposed it and rammed it through Planning, over their objection. To my knowledge, none of his constituents were asking for this.

3. Independents CAN thrive next to chains. Even in Manhattan, you have Joe The Art of Coffee and Think Coffee thriving next to Starbucks. You have "The Donut Plant" thriving next to Dunkin' Donuts. Chain restaurants don't even venture outside of Times Square. Then, there are thousands of independent clothing boutiques. This is even more true in Brooklyn. Neither Brooklyn nor Manhattan had to enact such a law as the mayor proposes. Take a look at Westfield New Jersey, which won an award for its downtown. A mix of independents and chains co-exist.

4. It's completely unfair to landlords (of which I am not one). Imagine, one day your mayor wakes up and says "here's a great way for me to grab headlines" and lops off 20% of the value of your business. It's outrageous.

5. In spite of the way the mayor framed it in the WSJ article, the ordinance does NOT allow for 30% of the businesses to be chains. It says that each commercial landlord can only rent 30% of his space to a chain. This is an effective ban on chains downtown since most downtown landlords don't have commercial spaces big enough to be subdivided.

6. The reason chain stores do well in some places is because people actually want them. Who is the mayor to decide that we can't conveniently access (without going to a mall) certain stores that we want? If downtown residents don't want them, they'll fail. That's democracy in action.

7. Use incentives. If you want independents, as you guys below suggested, provide better help at the city level to new businesses. Cut the ridiculous red tape, delays and usurious fees. Perhaps, as someone mentioned, create abatements for this purpose. This is the way to do it. But, unfortunately, it wouldn't generate headlines.

8. We will continue to patronize independents. The fact is, that many of us prefer to shop at independents. I know that I do. So long as they provide a great product, they will thrive in JC.

People need to speak out on this. It's bad policy and it's certainly undemocratic, when a politician can ram bad policy through, dressed up as fighting for the little guy, just to grab headlines.

Thanks for listening!

Dear Friends:

I?d like those of you reading this thread to better understand the underlying facts and the position of Downtown businesses on this issue. I apologize for the length, but there are many charges being made and they must be addressed.

1. Last year, twenty Downtown restaurants signed a letter to the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District (HDSID) asking that it end the sale of ?prepared foods? at the farmers? market. We asked that it convert the farmers? market back to its original form, namely a farmers? market offering local, farm-fresh produce and farm products. By doing this, our farmers? market would be similar those in New York City, which do not allow the sale of prepared foods, i.e. ready-to-go food served with plates and utensils for immediate consumption, and it would have stringent rules ensuring that the products sold are both local and healthful. Please go to grownyc.org.
2. The signatories to the letter did not single out food trucks but asked that all vending of prepared foods ? irrespective of platform - end.
3. The following twenty Downtown restaurants (in alphabetical order) have signed the letter: Barcade, Beechwood Caf?, Bon Chon Chicken, Broa, Cherry Pick, La Conguita, Downtown Yogurt, Dunkin Donuts, Grove Square Bistro, Gypsy Grill, Ibby?s, Left Bank Burger, The Little Sandwich Shop, McDonald?s, Orale, Park & Sixth, Raval, Subia?s, Subway, and Two Boots. Not all restaurants were approached, and thus this list should not be seen as exhaustive of our support.
4. The HDSID, which operates the Grove Plaza farmers? market, is an organization founded to improve business conditions for its members, i.e. for us. Accordingly, it is legally required to act ?loyally? to us. By operating a business that competes with its own members, the HDSID has been violating this duty.
5. We estimate that last year, the farmers? market diverted approximately $250,000 in sales from local brick-and-mortar restaurants to vendors at the farmers? market. These sales came directly out of the pockets of HDSID restaurants, many of which are small, mom-and-pop operations that can ill afford lost sales. The farmers? market was operated during our busiest dinnertime hours (many of us operate at a loss during the day) and at the most desirable location in Jersey City, literally cutting us off from our customers.
6. Last year, more than 66% of the vendors at the farmers? market came from outside of Jersey City, meaning that their businesses had almost no positive economic impact on Jersey City. These businesses did not hire Jersey City residents, pay Jersey City taxes, hire Jersey City contractors nor improve Jersey City properties. If you care about Jersey City?s development and fiscal health, this should matter to you.
7. Almost 100% of vendors at the farmers? market came from outside the HDSID. Incredibly, our own organization put them in direct competition with us, the very members to whom the HDSID owed a fiduciary duty of loyalty.
8. We restaurants pay high market-rate rents to have the privilege of being near or on Grove Street. On the other hand, the fees paid by farmers? market vendors are not market rate but highly subsidized by Jersey City. That?s because the space is free to the HDSID, which then charges vendors a nominal amount ? just enough to raise the money it thinks it needs. Unlike our landlords, the HDSID does not have to pay a mortgage or realize a return on investment. Thus, it can set the rent at an artificially low price. Or, to put it differently, does anyone think that if the plaza were owned privately, the owner would only rent it out for a farmers? market eight hours a week and leave it empty for pedestrians the rest of the time? Of course not. The plaza would be a building, just like the buildings we are in, and those spaces that the vendors now use would be store fronts with full-time leases at market rates like we pay. And, we?d have no quarrel with it because we?d be competing fairly, not with businesses receiving a public subsidy that we don?t.
9. We brick-and-mortar restaurants are always there for you and for Jersey City. Many people probably don?t realize that often, we lose money during the weekdays and late at night when there?s little or no foot traffic. But we are open. When the weather is cold, we?re still open. When a local charity, arts-group or civic organization needs a donation, we?re there. There are so many ways that we provide intangible (and material) benefits to the community. Alas, this cannot be said for the vendors at the farmers? market. Not because they are bad people. They simply don?t have the same obligations and relationship to the community.
10. None of the restaurants that have signed the letter are afraid of or against competition. All any objective person need do is take a look. Name any Downtown restaurant, and there are multiple competitors. As I think about Two Boots, the notion makes me laugh when I contemplate my next-door neighbor, Porta, or the myriad other pizzerias that have opened. As business people, we embrace and encourage competition because it makes us better and improves the Downtown. But competition must be fair and unsubsidized. It must come from business people who have to play by the same set of rules. And this unfair competition certainly must not come from our own business improvement district.

I know that a handful of you will stop patronizing Two Boots as a result of my outspoken position on this issue. That is your right, and I accept the risk. However, I wrote this letter with the confidence that most readers of JClist are fair minded and understand just how difficult running a restaurant is. The up-front costs are huge, the hours long, and the chance of financial success always in doubt. I can speak for all of the signers of the letter when I say that we love serving you, our customers, and hope that you will continue to support us. May restaurants continue to open and provide us all with delicious food and great places to gather and to eat!

Aaron Morrill
Owner, Two Boots Jersey City

No worries Ken. Thankfully we've received lots of support from people in the area who understand that the downtown is improving because people are investing in brick and mortar, fixing up decrepit old buildings, hiring Jersey City residents, paying taxes and doing for the community all of the things that brick and mortar stores do (and that food trucks and tables don't). And I won't out the other restaurants. They haven't given me the authority to alienate people like you on their behalf.

And caj11 (whoever you are), your accusation that I don't want to compete is a joke. There's no one who has more competition than Two Boots. Have you counted the pizzerias? Please. And, by the way, I welcome it. But competition needs to be fair. When the government (or HDSID) steps in and offers subsidized, way below market rent in Jersey City's best location, to vendors who have made none of the investments that we have, and have none of the costs, that ain't fair. Maybe in your book, but not mine (or any economist's that I know of).

On that note, I'm done.

Hi JCMan8,

Just to set the record straight, 21 downtown restaurants, of which Two Boots is only one, have asked the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District to stop selling prepared foods at the farmers' market and run it like New York City, which has the leading green market program in the country and does not allow prepared foods of any kind. That would mean eliminating people selling "ready to eat food" from tables and, yes, from food trucks as well. (Just so you know, the sale of such foods both violates the HDSID's charter - which is to support local member-businesses - and Jersey City law, which requires a 300 foot buffer between food trucks and restaurants.)

Having said that, I am 100% behind any program that helps ex-cons find employment. I would imagine that the other signatories to the letter feel likewise.

Aaron (and what was your name?)

Thanks for the support FatAssBike (and others).

I hope those who have attacked me and my business will stop and think for a moment how they'd feel about the issue if they owned a business and were in my shoes or those of Ibby's, or those of the Little Sandwich Shop. I'd dare say that they'd be "whining" too. Unfairness is unfairness and I'm sorry that some folks can't see that.

I'm going to sign off now because being a human pinata is starting to wear me down. I've got pizza to deliver.

Best to all.
Aaron

You're right. Not EVERYTHING stays in JC. Just a lot.

What???
The price of my rent is set by the market. The price of a space at the Grove Street Plaza isn't. Am I missing something? As I said, the vendors at the plaza are receiving a subsidized, below market rent, plain and simple.

Wow guys. Let me give you our story. Two Boots JC is not a franchise. I am friends with the founder who is based in NYC. I thought JC should have one. With his help, I opened Two Boots JC two years ago. It's completely independent. My wife and I own it. I've lived in JC since 1997. Did you read my post about how much we're involved in the community? I'm happy to answer any other questions.

Thanks for reading. Of course, I disagree with every point you made. Here's my analogy. You don't get orchestra seats for the price of standing room. That's pretty much the way our capitalist system works (whether you're on the left or right politically). The farmer's market completely subverts that and provides a subsidy to outside, non brick and mortar businesses by offering them below market rent. It's bad economics and definitely unfair to those of us who pay market rates. If you disagree with these tenets of a market economy, you might want to try living in Venezuela.

And, by the way, I think Ibby's is fantastic.

Thanks. I think I now know how this rumor started. I'm glad Hilltop Girl mentioned it.

Are they called "The Space Station"?

Hi Folks,

I couldn't resist joining in this debate. (Sometimes I think I'm crazy for taking such a prominent role on this issue but have found that most people, when they hear our points, sympathize with us and understand our position.) I hope you'll take the time to read this.

I have been the spokesperson for a group of 17 downtown businesses that includes, among others, Park and Sixth, Orale, La Conguita Barcade, Beachwood Caf?, the Little Sandwich Shop, and Ibby's Falafel. We have asked the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District, of which we are members, to end the sale of prepared foods at the farmers market. We believe that it should return to its original form which was essentially produce and other farm products sold by the actual farmers.

A little background is in order. The problem of prepared foods only became a big problem when the SID, which was set up to help its member businesses instead decided to go into competition with us in order to fill a budget hole. The easiest way to do this was to find vendors from all over New Jersey and New York who would come in and rent space at the plaza to sell their foods.

However, our problem with the SID is not your problem. The question is, even if it was run by someone else, why would it be wrong to allow the food court to continue? Let me explain.

1. The food trucks and table vendors represent predatory and unfair competition. How can I say this? It's pretty simple. When we open a restaurant we have to invest hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. We then have to pay astronomical rents to be close to Grove Plaza. We pay high taxes and fees to Jersey City. The food trucks and table vendors have none of these costs. They pay a small fee and get to parachute in during the busiest hours of the day, the dinner rush. (They can stay away during the slow times.) So, their cost advantage is huge. Imagine running a business where your competitors minimum-wage could be half of yours. That's what this is like. It's completely unfair.

2. Brick-and-mortar stores like ours make an immense contribution to the Jersey City economy. The food trucks and table vendors do not. Fully two thirds of the vendors at the Grove Plaza farmers market are from outside of Jersey City. They haven't built out any restaurants or hired any local contractors. They pay no rent to downtown landlords. They employ no Jersey City residents. They pay almost none of the Jersey City taxes and fees that we pay. Of the 10 vendors at Grove Plaza that are from Jersey City, only four of them have actually built brick-and-mortar establishments. None of them have done so in the pricey downtown area. So even they have a huge cost advantage over us.

3. We are all for fair competition. Several of you have mentioned the opening of Porta next door to Two Boots. I welcome them. They have invested millions in a beautiful new space. They are competing with me fairly. When Roman Nose opened, they took a bite out of my sales. But I welcomed them also. They are nice guys and serve good food. But, as I explained above, a food truck or a guy selling from the table from southern New Jersey or Brooklyn is simply not fair competition.

4. An empanada eaten does hurt pizza sales. Consumers prize above all else, convenience. If you can grab some food the moment you emerge from the Path station and you're hungry, you'll do so. Some people might say "no, I want pizza and I'll walk the half block." Many won't though. That's just human nature. But it's even worse for others. Just last night, at the City Council meeting, the owner of Ibby's testified as to how he now has two competitors at Grove Plaza selling falafel and hummus. Imagine, this is a guy that took the step of investing in Jersey City 20 years ago and makes some of the best food you could ever want and he's losing sales to vendors from outside of Jersey City Who are in effect given a huge subsidy by the Special Improvement District when they are allowed to sell at the best location in Jersey City. This simply is not right.

5. Jeff Favia clearly has many detractors here. I cannot comment as to some of the claims that have been made. I don't know Jeff well enough. What I can say is that he invested approximately $3 million in one of the nicest looking restaurants in Jersey City and has immeasurably improved the way the plaza looks. What if a Hooters had gone in there? I think his views need to be taken
seriously.

Finally, as to Two Boots, we have tried to contribute in every way possible to Jersey City. We are a consistent supporter of numerous neighborhood organizations including ArtHouse, the Boys and Girls Club, WBGO and local schools. When two buildings burned down on Manila last year, we were the first to offer our space for a fundraiser for the occupants who were burned out. I know other businesses are similarly generous. These are things that food trucks and vendors from tables simply will not give to Jersey City. It's another reason why it's so important that everybody support brick-and-mortar businesses.

If we give it time, we will get all of the restaurants we want. But so long as there are tables and food trucks at Grove Plaza restauranteurs will be less likely to build. I know everyone loves convenience. But convenience has costs.

Thanks
Aaron

Where was this place? I've never tried to close anyone. Most of all a music venue. I'm a musician myself. This is a bizarre and concerning accusation.

Hi Hilltop Girl,
You stated that we had something to do with closing down The Space Station in 2012. I've never heard of it. Can you please explain?
Aaron

Thanks! I contacted the dealer and had no luck. Perhaps I'll try again.

Ha!

Hi All. Recently, a discerning customer "removed" a beautiful little outsider painting of Leadbelly from our men's bathroom. It's a portrait by "Underwood" on a light green background. If anyone sees it in their travels, please encourage the possessor to return it. No questions asked. Thanks!

Hi All:
Tomorrow night Two Boots will be sampling our brand new Jambalaya and other new goodies for Mardi Gras. There will be a surprise complimentary refreshment as well. It starts at 6 and goes until closing. Please stop in. We'd love to get a nice crowd!
TBJC

If you're hankering for a slice to accompany the Super Bowl, please stop in. We just installed a really great projector and screen! (Sorry for the late notice. We installed it on Friday.)

Two Boots (under construction) is collecting a bunch of artifacts to be permanently encased in its clear epoxy counter top. Little non-valuable tchotchkes like cards, ticket stubs, programs, souvenirs - anything that is small and interesting - are wanted. Things related to JC are particularly welcome. A free slice to anyone whose item is selected! If you've got something, shoot an email to twobootsjc@gmail.com.