No surer sign of the end of summer than the pop up Halloween costume shops. I remember one in Hoboken that took over the abandoned Barnes and Noble.
This store used to be the Pet Shop in the Mall. I forget the last franchise that had the spot, although I believe I remember it as Puppy Palace. That might have been the name of a mall store of my New Jersey youth. Whatever the name, now and then – well the then now not the now now – it was still a retail outlet for puppy mills. Puppies were the main attraction. On Saturdays you could see all the kids looking at the puppies. Lots of fish tanks too, pets, supplies… the whole gamut. I bought a $60.00 water fountain for my cat, so he would have fresh water when I went on trips.
This sort of pet shop puppy sale might have been outlawed, sure seemed cruel but I don’t know all the facts or why this store closed down. I’m sure the economy is a factor – two new high end pet supply stores opened on nearby Newark Avenue, accompanying the Pet Shop that has been a part of downtown since about the Eisenhower administration. Or maybe Pet Shops don’t fit into the new fashion oriented Newport Mall, home now to large Century 21 and H&M outlets. Still room for a tacky, ghetto fabulous Halloween store, can’t take Jersey City out of the Newport Mall or the Newport Mall out of Jersey City, no matter how separate from the city it often seems.
We live in a temporary economy but at least we can have seasonal sales. I wonder if it will sell Christmas ornaments after the Nightmare before Christmas. Competition already has started on that score. Kohl’s has a full fledged decoration and Macy’s already has its holiday red, so bright it can singe your retina. One holiday at a time I always say. The spider is a new party entertainment. You step on this pedal and the spider jumps in the air. Scary stuff. I wonder if they have any ghosts of dead puppy costumes?
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