Hello, my name is McKenzie Ditter. My father owns Bun Penny in the Columbia Mall and I regret to tell you that we will be closing down at some point in the next three weeks. Bun Penny stopped being profitable quite a long time ago, but my father now cannot even break even thanks to the mall's skyrocketing rent. I'm not sure how often you update your blog, but I'd appreciate it if you could mention this as soon as possible. The sooner I can get the word out, the better.
The Bun Penny market and cafe has been a part of the Columbia Mall for nearly forty years, and my family has owned it for the past eighteen. We have always struggled to survive in the mall, but after General Growth Properties' acquisition of the Rouse Company, it has become impossible. The day before this Thanksgiving, my father was notified that Bun Penny must leave the mall by January 15th. Just as they decided that Columbia no longer needed the Poinsettia Tree, they have decided that Bun Penny no longer has a place in the Columbia Mall.
Until now, my family has kept news of our closure a secret from customers and employees for fear of jeopardizing the final shipments from our food distributors. Now, with Christmas passed, I think it is safe to spread the word. I'd like Columbia to recognize the plight of small businesses in the profit-before-people culture fostered by companies like GGP. I want people to see how far the new owners of Columbia are straying from James Rouse's initial vision. My family has been struggling to pay an ever-increasing rent of $38,000 a month to a company based in Chicago that shows little to no regard for the traditions and institutions of Columbia.I don't know what the future holds for Bun Penny, but knowing that it will no longer be a part of the mall is sad. As much as I dislike the superficiality of what the mall has become, it's hard to forget that it has been a second home to my father, mother, brother and me for as long as I can remember. As a little girl, I played in the straw barrels that we used for gift baskets. I threw temper-tantrums in front of customers, had countless crushes on cute deli boys twice my age, and broke more bottles of wine than I can remember. I collected coffee beans from the ground, made sandwich signs and window murals, sewed tablecloths, and catered the beautiful weddings of some of Columbia's most powerful residents. I can make a gift basket with my eyes closed and recite the prices of hundreds of cracker boxes and jellies and teas in my sleep. For better or worse, Bun Penny has been an extremely important part of my life, and I know I am not alone.Bun Penny is a family business - not just my immediate family, but the extended family of employees, customers, and even old Harry the produce man. There are men and women working at this store who have known me since before I was born. The Bun Penny family has seen births, teenage romances, graduations, marriages, divorces, and deaths. Through it all, there has always been love and support for anyone in need. This family deserves to know how much they are worth and how much they have meant to us. This is not the first time that a family business has been driven out of the Columbia Mall and it does not bode well for the few that remain. Considering the Poinsettia Tree debacle, tradition appears to be a tender topic during the holidays and GGP's continued efforts to undermine such traditions should not go unnoticed. If Columbia wants to preserve its other institutions, it must continue to make its voice heard.
Update: There is a pretty good conversation going on about this in the comment section of another blog.
Update 2: Still not fatigued? Check out the flurry of discussion over at Wordbones' house.
21 comments:
Thank you for posting my letter. I know that GGP isn't technically doing anything wrong, but it still doesn't feel right. I suppose I am a bit biased, though. I just wanted to let people know what's going on. Thanks again, and happy holidays.
...by the way, I did have plans to enlarge the vegetarian portion of the menu...
The market place can be very cruel, but very often, people who are hard working, optimistic, and want to do the right thing, find that as one door closes, another opens.
I have no crystal ball, but as one of your customers I suspect your family will go on to future success.
While it is sad your family business is leaving the mall, aren't there lesser priced alternatives? Why would leaving that mall mean the end of the business - there must be more affordable location options?
I have to agree with the other poster - if the mall owner can get more rent from another tenant, that's what they should do - that's the basis of capitalism. Our economy would be in a sad state if we traded in emotion rathter than currency...
The "free market" is nothing if not "free". Governments at all levels shape the market through tax policies, planning, etc.
Columbia is all about the plan...or at least it is supposed to be. What we are seeing now, on the East side, as well as in the Mall, is sprawl...unplanned sprawl. It is the antithesis of what Columbia is supposed to be all about.
alanaklien- Of course governments shape the market through various taxes and regulations. Not always, but quite often government regulation is highly detrimental to society- the ban on civil unions and drugs are two obvious examples, and there are thousands of others.
Were your comments on sprawl related to the topic of this post, or were you making general comments? I don’t see a connection.
As someone whose children have worked at Bun Penny for years I have to say what another blow this will be to the Columbia tradition. Jeff ran his business in the spirit of Columbia. Hiring back his employees year after year on their college breaks and summer vacations. Their was a definite feeling of family in this business. How many Columbia families could thank Jeff for providing their children with their first job and for the understanding he showed them when they needed time off. With large chains taking over the stores at the mall it is sad to see one of the true Columbia traditions coming to an end. I hope they find a place to relocate and keep the tradition alive.
Maybe they could move into a retail space in the Tower.
"What we are seeing now, on the East side, as well as in the Mall, is sprawl...unplanned sprawl"
Alan, Can you please provide examples of this unplanned sprawl?
I got my first job at Bun Penny when I was 15 and worked there off and on throughout college. It was like a family for the employees and I have nothing but fond memories of the time I spent there. The store and the people in it - Jeff, Danny, Kitty, Earl (there are too many to name them all) - are part of my history. Who I am today was shaped in large part by the experiences I had there - sometimes I feel as if I grew up there. It is sad to know that a place that was so much a part of the fabric of Columbia now has no place in the town it helped to build. I send my best wishes and thanks to Jeff and his family. I sincerely hope that Bun Penny will find another home - it is part of what makes (I'm still optimitstic enough to not say "made") Columbia special.
- Elizabeth Bond
"if the mall owner can get more rent from another tenant, that's what they should do - that's the basis of capitalism. Our economy would be in a sad state if we traded in emotion rathter than currency..."
I'm a dyed in the wool capitalist but I don't believe that profit must be our only goal. We have seen much of this in the past and it has led to popular responses that many capitalists despise, not the least of which have been unions, ponderous regulations and socialism. Over 2500 years ago, when the market economy was just beginning to take root in various regions of the world, certain visionairies began to articulate a way in which business should be conducted; "Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you." This dog eat dog, let the best man win and the buyer beware mentality that many of us live with does nothing other than impoverish us.
I remember McKenzie's birth - I was managing the deli at Bun Penny then. Bun Penny was always more than just a business, the people that led it - from the Sachs's to the Ditters - never placed profit ahead of people. I wouldn't be surprised that Jeff held on as long as he has, in such an inhospitable business environment, because of the loyalty he feels for his employees (not to mention his customers).
For those who like a big box world in which the 'strong' have eliminated the less competitive - a world of nameless and faceless absentee authority, beholden to the whims of Wall Street, where (with few exceptions) service has become substandard and our choice of options has become scarce - then you have reason to be optimistic. Expect the Mall's next tenet to be just another repackaged version of the same.
For the rest of us, who appreciate merchants with spirit and conscience, our neighborhood has been diminished once again.
“I'm a dyed in the wool capitalist but I don't believe that profit must be our only goal. We have seen much of this in the past and it has led to popular responses that many capitalists despise, not the least of which have been unions, ponderous regulations and socialism. Over 2500 years ago, when the market economy was just beginning to take root in various regions of the world, certain visionaries began to articulate a way in which business should be conducted; "Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you." This dog eat dog, let the best man win and the buyer beware mentality that many of us live with does nothing other than impoverish us.”
Help me understand, Christian, what the above segment of your comment has to do with Bun Penny? Do you understand that GGP is forcing Bun Penny to relocate, not go out of business? If Bun Penny throws in the towel, that is a management decision made by Bun Penny alone. No one- not one single person- is being taken advantage of here, so let’s be a little honest with our comments.
Many of the “big-box” retailers that you deride for having a substandard selection of products give the consumer a much larger selection of goods at a cheaper price. Compare Borders to a mom-and-pop bookstore and let me know which one you like better.
Of course they could re-open at considerable risk and expense after spending many years trying to build up a business in their home town. I assume that they think the benefits will not outweigh the risk or effort. And this GGP company (to be fair I have never heard of them until today) is probably made up of very decent people. They certainly are no worse than their predecessors who were known for their impersonal business decisions. But again, these corporations and the ones that they prefer to cater to serve the stock market first, their boards of directors second and way down on the list are often found employees, community and conscience. Maybe. You are right, no one is being taken advantage of legally but they are nonetheless being taken advantage of. Why, isn't that the express purpose of profit? Actually, no; the idea is for mutual advantage. And sometimes that means coloring outside of the lines of a contract.
Be that as it may, if you prefer large corporate stores to local operators, bully for you. But the paradigm for these big stores is for them to come in after brokering a sweet deal with the local government,quickly put any competition out of business and when the coast is clear cut back on product and services.
There are exceptions. I do like Borders (and I think Target does a good job) but I would much rather shop in a small local bookstore (if there were any). Of course this may be a red herring since most people don't buy more than one book a year (I am always amazed at how busy Borders is). The funny thing is that if you really want a good selection of books that are more than a couple of years old then it is the independent used book store operator that is most likely to have it. And if you want something special to put in your pantry or to enjoy with a nice wine where will you go in Columbia? Oh,yeah. Trader Joe's, from Massachusetts.
I don't think anyone should be throwing themselves out a window over the demise of just one more local business that has folded. But it is erroneous to chalk it up as an another example of 'progress'.
It's not the landlord that's the bad buy here... if customers voted with their wallets, small businesses would flourish and "big box" stores wouldn't be successful. But the bottom line, I guess, is the the "bottom line" for most folks. I'm always amazed at the number of people who lament the loss of mom & pop shops, but won't spend an extra buck to support them. Talk is cheap - in the end, people's actions (where they spend their money) speaks louder than words. If I had a nickle for everyone who waxes nostalgic about small stores over coffee with friends while sitting in a large chain restaurant, I'd be rich! Peole like the romantic idea of small business, they are just aren't willing to support it. It isn't that a resaturant can't make it in the mall (look at how the busy the food court is) its that enough customers aren't spending enough money at Bun Penny for it to be profitable. And that isn't the mall's fault...
I have many memories of Bun Penny. I have been going there since I was a little girl. I remeber when it was still a Jewish deli and it was the place to go for potato Kinishs. My dad would get one everytime we went in there and could forget the barrels of candy I used to stand on my tippy toes to see and would beg my dad to buy me. Times change and so did the store. I stopped going in there as much after Jeff took over. Big dels came into supermarkets which had the same thing and more. Bun Penny still held a special spot in my heart. They stopped selling the potato kinishs and barrel candy. I always told my self I would go into Bun Penny another time and unfortuantly there will be not be another time because as of yesterday Bun Penny is just a memory. The Columbia as gone from a majority of unquie family stores to all chain stores expect for one tailor. All the original stores are gone expect for one. I know times have to change but what happened to the town that felt like a town. What happened to Rouse's vision. Bun Penny is just the last vicitim of cooperate greed. Good bye Pun Benny
Actually, squeaky flirt, Bun Penny is not the victim of corporate greed but rather, of the shopping habits of people like you.
You stopped going in there. Collectively, you and the other folks who regard Bun Penny only as a place they "used to shop" are the only ones to blame for its closure.
It's easy to blame faceless intangible enemies like "corporate greed" but the fact is, if you and the other people lamenting the good ole days had have actually spent money there, they'd still be open.
It has a nice sound to it. "Squeakyflirt".It conjures up mental images of a young person, full of energy, popular with her friends, not ready to accept all the wisdoms of the world, but full of dreams of what was and what will be.
I like the way you include Dad in the story, it gives the story a feel of respect and love.
Let's edit this story Squeaky.
It has a nice sound to it. "Columbia". It conjures up mental images of a young Mall full of energy, popular with it's customers, not ready to accept all the wisdoms of the world, but full of dreams of what was and what will be.
I like the way you include Jim Rouse in your story, it gives the story a feel of respect and love.
Squeaky,
With the passage of time I hope you, the Mall, and all of us adapt in the best of ways.
First of all anonymous I am not to blame for bun penny closing. Why should shop at a tore that is going to make me pay more for the same sandwhich I can get somewhere. Bun Penny is closing because they new a bigger chain company would pay twice the amount of rent Bun Penny is now and there out to make money not to help the little company.
We are depressed...where will we be able to find the Caramel Kiss coffee beans.
Until you find your Caramel beans,
you may want to try a cup of Caramel coffee at the City Dock
18 Market place, Annapolis md.
You may also check for the beans at Papa Nicholas Coffee co.
1.888.papanik.
This reminds me of when I was a grocery clerk, and the sweet aroma that I enjoyed when grinding a pound of coffee for a customer.
I no longer have a reason to go to Columbia Mall. Three of my favorite stores left this year, Arden B, Bun Penny, and Hyatt & Co. And from my understanding this was the same situation. It it just upseting when I walk through Columbia Mall.
I worked at bun penny for 7 years. Started when i was a freshman in high school and finished right after i graduate college, due to the store closing. I was there until the last day when our store was empty and i have to say it was very hard for me to even stand in that store and listen to my voice echo. Bun Penny had a special place for me and i have to thank Jeff for being a great boss and a father figure to all of us...
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