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"I think everybody's trying to find a way to be creative," said Rick Winter, owner of Hip Baby Gear. The store shares space with Urban Elements. Deborah Parker

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December 8, 2010

Salem shops share space, save on expenses

By Tom Dalton Staff writer The Salem News Wed Dec 08, 2010, 06:00 AM EST

SALEM — Pam Jaynes, who owns a gift shop in Beverly, wasn't really looking to open a second store in Salem. But when she spotted a "for lease" sign in a storefront on cobblestoned Front Street, she had to take a look.

Once inside 24 Front St., she fell in love with the high ceiling, brick walls, wooden floors and the two separate levels connected by a short set of stairs.

"It's such a beautiful space," she said.

There was a problem, though. It was just too big for the concept she had in mind — a small store selling hand-crafted jewelry.

When Jaynes struck up a conversation with the departing tenant, Jacqui Albanese, the owner of the flower shop Fiddlehead, she learned that Albanese was planning to move out because she could not afford the rent.

The two women got to thinking and talking. That discussion led to an agreement to share the space and costs.

"I never would have gone into this if I didn't have a good feeling about Pam," Albanese said. "When I sat with her the first time, we were like kindred spirits. I knew this was going to work."

In mid-September, Jaynes and co-owner Kayley Biery, her niece, opened Sweet Anthem in the front of the store. Albanese condensed her flower and event business to the smaller upper level in the rear.

While they may be the newest retail roommates, they are not the only ones in downtown Salem.

Hip Baby Gear, which sells strollers, backpacks and other merchandise for babies and new parents, is sharing its Washington Street storefront with Urban Elements, a home decor store.

Actually, Urban Elements has its own store around the corner on the Essex Street pedestrian mall and is using the back of Hip Baby Gear as a showroom to display its larger items, like a linen slip-cover couch, two tall cabinets from India and leather chairs.

"A lot of people would never have thought of putting furniture in a baby store," Urban Elements owner Kim Tenenbaum said. "Well, why not?"

For Tenenbaum, the space inside Hip Baby Gear is not so much a second store, as an expansion of her current store.

"She's expanded because she's been successful," said Jennifer Bell, the manager of Salem Main Streets.

Interestingly, a second "store" recently opened inside Urban Elements. Tye Burrell runs Sankofa Massage and Bodywork in a small, walled-off section in the back.

Some of this piggy-backing may be due to the lack of retail space in Salem. The downtown, Bell said, is almost full.

But containing costs in a challenging economy seems to be a prime motivator for stores within stores. It certainly helps businesses launching second stores, like Hip Baby Gear, a Marblehead business that opened in Salem earlier in the year.

Hip Baby began by sharing space with Two Girls Shop, a women's clothing store. When Two Girls Shop moved to its own storefront on Derby Street a few months ago, Urban Elements took its place. It was almost like musical stores.

"I think everybody's trying to find a way to be creative," Hip Baby Gear owner Rick Winter said.

There are challenges to being a retail roommate. Tenenbaum, for example, can't be in two places at once and does not have a full-time salesperson inside Hip Baby Gear. So she's not there to answer shoppers' more detailed questions.

On Front Street, Fiddlehead and Sweet Anthem have separate staffs and registers under one roof.

The flower shop and jewelry store help each other, both owners said. That was apparent last Thursday when three women walked into Fiddlehead looking to buy flowers for a friend. On the way out, one of the women stopped to ask questions in Sweet Anthem about a piece of jewelry.

"The sharing space definitely works," Jaynes said. "It almost gives you two different customer bases."

Sharing costs also allows businesses to save money, or spend it in different ways.

"I'm able now to do advertising I couldn't do in the past," Albanese said.

There are details to work out, of course, like who gets the display window in front, or which sign goes where. The two businesses also have to learn about one another so they can cover in case somebody steps out.

Barely three months into their new retail arrangement, the Fiddlehead and Sweet Anthem owners said it appears to be a good fit.

"You kind of take a leap of faith," Jaynes said. "It's kind of like getting a roommate you don't know that well, but it's working out real well thus far."

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