Business is Booming in Downtown Mahopac
As Fro-Yo Fusion held the grand opening of its new yogurt shop located on Route 6 in Mahopac last Sunday, patrons easily could see a difference in heart of the downtown – there were no vacant storefronts.
The business district in Mahopac from Clark Street to the intersection of Routes 6 and 6N has experienced a recent boom as an influx of retail, restaurant and other commercial establishments have moved into the neighborhood.
“We liked the fact that a business has so much visibility in this area,” said Ginny Ryan, who owns Fro-Yo Fusion with her husband Ken.
Fro-Yo Fusion, now found at 565 Route 6, previously was located in the Brewster Sports Center, but the Ryans decided after being there for six months that Mahopac was a better fit for them.
More exposure was also the reason why Neil Denaut moved his personal training studio All-Out Fitness to its new location at 609 Route 6.
Kali Ma, a beauty bar and new age boutique located at 605 Route 6, decided to move from its Carmel location to Mahopac, too, because it had more foot traffic.
“People park their cars and they are willing to walk around, run their errands and shop,” said Kali Ma owner Jill Batista.
To help people understand where they are allowed to park in the hamlet, Carmel town officials are looking to have the New York State Department of Transportation paint parallel parking lines along Route 6 as a reminder.
“It is legal to park there now,” said Rob Vara, Carmel’s engineering projects coordinator. “But people do not realize that they can. Hopefully the lines will encourage them to.”
Over the past few months there have been more than a dozen new businesses that have moved into the corridor. Some, such a Sea Chic restaurant and LOOK Art Gallery, are new business ventures whose owners saw potential in Mahopac.
“Mahopac is a vibrant community that has a lot to offer,” said Christopher Staples, owner of LOOK Art Gallery. She said she intends to help Mahopac become a destination for culture.
“I think there are so many businesses opening because the rents finally came down a little bit lower,” said Laurie Ford, chairwoman of the Greater Mahopac-Carmel Chamber of Commerce, who owns Kidz Country in Mahopac. “Those people who always had the dream of opening up their own business are now doing it. In between the banks being more amenable, rents being more affordable and people being home more, people are really utilizing this great community.”
Ford thinks Mahopac’s appeal is because it is walkable and workable.
“People are more confident in doing business here,” she said. “It is not just in the downtown. New businesses are opening straight down Route 6, too. We have Recine Decoration and Design that just opened and Copperhead Grill steakhouse is coming in. There is a lot going on in Mahopac.”
While local landlord Dave Nichols has been able to rent out some of his vacant storefronts in recent months, the same has not been true for the office space and residential units he has available.
“We have rented a few vacant retail spaces recently that have been empty for a while,” said Nichols, who owns several properties in Mahopac. “I think it is because we lowered our rents. We had to look at it as, a little bit of rent was better than no rent.”
According to Nichols keeping rents low might be unsustainable.
“The town keeps raising its taxes so the rents will not be able to remain that low,” he said.
Nichols said that in order for the businesses to remain in Putnam, the town and the school district will have to cut spending.
“You cannot expect people to be able to afford to live or run a business here if they have to keep paying more in their property taxes,” he said.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
