Business in downtown Westminster in the last three months of this year has been: (a) down the tubes; (b) about the same as in the final quarter of 1997; or (c) considerably better.

The answer depends on which merchant makes the assessment.

The departure of the Westminster post office, which moved from its historic site at 83 E. Main St. in August to the northern edge of the city, has hurt downtown retail businesses that depended heavily on people strolling by and stopping to look at merchandise. Destination businesses, where customers go for specific items, saw little or no effect. Some merchants reported a brief decline, followed by a bounce back.

Interviews with 28 downtown retail merchants produced a portrait of a generally healthy business district, with a few exceptions. But many merchants miss having an anchor store such as Mather's, a department store that closed in 1996 after 106 years.

"Main Street needs a draw. The draws we had are gone. What are we going to do now?" asked Joe Markowitz, owner of Joe's Deli.

Some local merchants complain of downtown workers using parking meters all day; some want additional promotional events to bring people downtown; others preach self-reliance to build their businesses.

"You've got to draw your own customers. If you're going to survive, you have to sell things that are unique, stuff Wal-Mart doesn't have," said Heinz E. Luesse, owner of Heinz Bakery.

Downtown Westminster is on the verge of becoming a vital, energized business district, but it has been on the verge for several years, in the view of Patty Keener, owner of Locust Antiques. "Generally speaking, the town has improved. It has a better appearance. The restaurants have helped," she said. "You can almost see it ready to happen, but it kind of lags behind, and we don't know why."

Keener said she doesn't know how to attract a major retailer, such as a clothing store, that would boost the smaller businesses. "The only way I know to do it is to make this place look so good that people will want to come," she said.

She put her philosophy into action. She and local antiques dealer Kevin Wagman decorated the windows of the vacant historic stone building in the first block of Liberty Street for the holidays. Next spring, Keener hopes to start a dialogue with the mayor and Common Council on programs such as landscaping.

Mayor Kenneth A. Yowan agreed that landscaping is important, but said he believes downtown business won't boom until merchants change their hours.

"If I hear a merchant say he can't compete with the mall and he's closing early, well, the mall doesn't close at 4 or 5 [p.m.]. We've been preaching this for years," he said.

Some business owners have begun staying open late during the week or on Sunday, but the downtown business community hasn't coordinated its hours.

Extended hours haven't helped Antiques & Collectibles, a 6-year-old store where manager Lorraine Van Leeuwen said business has been down in the past three months. In an effort to lure customers, the owner opened Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights and all day Sunday during the fall "and did no business," she said.

Van Leeuwen can't account for the decline. She said the store has a regular clientele, but hasn't attracted additional shoppers during the holiday season.

In contrast, Kim Prehn, owner of Unique Jewelry, a half-block east of the antiques store, said her business is much better than in the last three months of 1997, a success she attributes to advertising.

Downtown business as a whole seems to be doing better, she said. "We lose something here and there, but we've got a lot more nice restaurants," Prehn said.

Three restaurants or delicatessens have opened or changed hands downtown in the past three years.

Markowitz said his deli is "still doing OK, but it's off." He declined to divulge how much business has declined in the past three months.

Jonathan Mawhinney, owner of The Chef's Kitchen, didn't see a drop in business when the post office moved, but said he saw a customary decline during the holiday season.

At the bustling Kountry Kafe and Katering, co-owner Shirley Spencer has heard a reverse twist on the merchants missing the post office. "The post office people [say they] miss being able to come to us, because they have to get in the car and drive here," she said.

At Giulianova Italian deli, two doors west of Markowitz's business, owner Tony D'Eugenio said his business is "quite healthy."

Johansson's Dining House is doing "slightly better" than last year, reported office manager Suzanne Ricciardelli.

Restaurants are a risky business anywhere, said Paula Kreuzburg, director of chapters for the Restaurant Association of Maryland. She quoted statistics from the National Restaurant Association reporting that one in five restaurants remains in business five years after opening. "That's an 80 percent failure rate in five years," she said.

She said Maryland restaurants operate on a 3.5 percent to 5 percent profit margin.

Markowitz looks to the city government for additional help. He wants to see more promotional events and possibly a convention center downtown.

"The more business you have, the more taxes you pay, the more you give to government. Is it their responsibility to make a business run? No, but the government is responsible to have something there," he said.

Yowan said the city remains open to suggestions for promotional events and will make changes in the way parking is managed, as needed. He said the council is looking at "other measures to spur investment downtown" but declined to elaborate.

Pub Date: 12/28/98