Visions for Vacancies: Former Montclair Malt Shop

After 33 years in business the Montclair Malt Shop closed last February. What would you like to see in this spot?

The Montclair Malt Shop was located at 2066 Mountain Blvd in Montclair. It closely follows nearby Sarber’s Cameras, which closed after over 50 years in business. Although the two businesses are very different, perhaps both are closing for similar reasons. Times are changing and people’s preferences are changing.

I also wrote about a similar ice cream shop in Kensington that closed in late December. It was similar to the Montclair Malt Shop that it was more of a traditional-style ice cream and has also been in the same location for decades. These days frozen yogurt shops, like Yogofina down the street, seem to be doing very well and might’ve taken a lot of business from shops like this. The other factor is, not surprisingly, ice cream shops do very poorly in the winter and rely on sales of coffee and hot chocolate to compensate.  In the case of Montclair Malt Shop, it was surrounded by Starbucks and Peet’s, which makes that difficult.

What would you like to see in this space?  Perhaps your ideas can help people like the owner of Montclair Malt Shop find a new business.

Submit your suggestions on Spotmojo using this link:  http://www.spotmojo.com/openspot/maltshop/

Piedmont Patch is working with Spotmojo to collect your suggestions for vacancies.  Spotmojo is a website where you can suggest the businesses you want where you live, work, or play. The suggestions are provided to new businesses to help them find their ideal location. This gives you a voice in the businesses that open in your neighborhood and it helps local businesses succeed.