Walkin' in the Rain to Check on Fairfield Biz

If there’s a bright spot for business amidst the stagnant economy it might just be in downtown Fairfield.

“I think there’s been sort of a rebirth here,” First Selectman Mike Tetreau said, during a rainy Tuesday afternoon walkabout. “We have a diverse customer base and one of the lowest vacancy rates around.”

Indeed, there appear to be fewer empty storefronts in downtown Fairfield compared to neighboring towns such as Westport and New Canaan, Rep. Jim Himes (D-4) pointed out yesterday while meeting with several small Fairfield business owners.

State Rep. Kim Fawcett (D-133) and Fairfield Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Minority Leader Cristin McCarthy-Vahey joined the Congressman and First Selectman on the small business tour.

The visit came days after the US Department of Labor released the July jobs report. According to the labor department, the private sector also created 154,000 jobs, which balanced thousands of government jobs.

“In the midst of the disaster with the SEALs and the debt deal, it was a little piece of good news,” Himes said.

According to the Connecticut Department of Labor, Fairfield County’s unemployment rate has hovered around 8.1 percent, which is lower than the national and state unemployment rate of 9.1 percent.

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” said Bob Sussman, owner of , Fairfield’s longest established, family-owned jeweler.

Most of the small business owners thought the economy has stabilized, though people are still being careful about their purchases.

“People are more particular and careful about what they’re doing,” said Sussman. “People are still choosing to celebrate occasions, but they’re budgeting within the family.”

Joe Vaccarella, the owner of Barber of Seville, said business is going well. But the barber lamented the loss of foot traffic.

“Merchants park their cars in front of the building and kids are not getting haircuts. Their hair is long. You’re supposed to get a haircut once a week,” Vaccarella said.

If video killed the radio star, then perhaps direct download technologies are killing the DVD rental? That’s what Himes wanted to know when he visited Media Wave.

The Congressman asked owner Paul Jordanopoulos what impact direct download, Internet access, computer usage in general and elements like YouTube is having on his business.

None of that appeared to bother Jordanopoulos.

“I’m like the last man standing,” Jordanopoulos said. “Businesses have to change, they have to adapt. It’s all about entertainment. I’m competing for discretionary time as well as discretionary spending.”

Discretionary spending is one issue Himes has had to tackle in recent weeks as Congress debated whether to raise the national debt ceiling for the first time in 80 years.

Himes called it a manufactured crisis.

“For more than a year I’ve said the debt ceiling is too dangerous a weapon to use politically,” Himes said after the tour. “What I suspected would happen, did, the downgrade. But the Tea Party decided to do this to further their ideological goals.”

Himes said Standard and Poor’s downgrade from AAA to AA+ with a negative outlook didn’t provide any new insights.  

“The dirty secret about the deal was that too small a step was taken,” Himes said about a plan which will cut $2.1 trillion in spending over 10 years and raise the debt ceiling by between $2.1 and $2.4 trillion over two years.

Yet, Himes said the one positive that came of the deal is the Super Committee.

“I’ve asked to be on it,” Himes said. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and House Speaker John Boehner will each appoint three members of their party to sit on the committee.

The bi-partisan, six-member committee must reduce deficits by between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion. If it fails, up to $1.2 trillion will be automatically cut from several areas of federal spending. The cuts don’t include spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Federal Reserve released a statement yesterday from the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rate policy.

“Economic growth so far this year has been considerably slower than the Committee had expected,” said the FOMC in a statement. “Indicators suggest a deterioration in overall labor market conditions in recent months, and the unemployment rate has moved up.  Household spending has flattened out, investment in nonresidential structures is still weak, and the housing sector remains depressed.”

Over at the , owner Pete Oman said his side of the street has become more energized, customers remain somewhat cautious.

Most customers are still spending less on luxury items, such as a second tennis racket or a new outfit. Oman bought and renovated the store two years ago during the height of the recession.

Still, Oman’s not complaining. He said given that Fairfield has six country clubs and numerous racquet clubs business remains brisk.

“I don’t think Fairfield County is in any way indicative of the rest of the population. It’s a higher end market,” Oman said. “Most customers don’t care very much about sales and they come in when they need something.”

After the tour Himes talked about Afghanistan and the recent deaths of 30 soldiers riding in a Chinook were shot down.

“It was as bad a tragedy as has happened,” Himes said. “And it hit us here locally. A lot of people knew Brian Bell.”

However, Himes said the incident underscores the need reduce the American presence in Afghanistan and to accelerate the draw down.