Before becoming the publisher and editor of Macaroni Kid, I worked in the corporate retail business for 10 years and learned firsthand all of the hard work that goes into every-single-detail in designing any product, the equally hard work that goes into getting that product in front of buyers and ultimately into stores. With this experience under my belt, it drives my passion to support our local business owners. What isn't often shared, is the story behind our local businesses. In addition to providing Mac Kid readers with local events, I want to spread the stories of people like Jeff Beck, the owner of East Side Mags, pictured above. Jeff is a rock star. This Father just had his second baby boy during the pandemic, while running a business, taking care of his toddler and adapting to the temporary chaos.
Downtown Montclair is known for its charm, its restaurants, and its high rents. In the middle of our downtown, is a gem East Side Mags. If you've never stopped in, you should once the social distancing limitations are lifted. Even if you can't go in to shop, they are still open for curbside and delivery :-) If Jeff had opened East Side Mags in Manhattan instead of Montclair, I would picture it to be in the East Village area, to give you a sense. Does anyone else who moved from The City find themselves always comparing local places to a different area of NYC?
Jeff grew up in Wayne. He and his now-wife moved to Montclair shortly after opening the shop in 2014 and moved to Bloomfield when they found out they were having (their first) baby. "We didn’t think a pseudo-one-bedroom apartment was an appropriate setting to raise a kid if we had other options available to us."
Where did your love for comic books start?
I collected comics for about 25 years before I had the shop. I used to buy comics off a spinner rack at a bodega near my childhood home with the money I made helping my dad around his office – refilling paper towels and toilet paper in the bathroom and other various helper work stuff. Then I met my friend (to this day) Howie Levy at summer camp who introduced me to my first comic shop! My mind was blown! Ever since then, I’ve been a huge fan of anything comic related – comics, movies, tv shows, etc.
How has your business been affected by Covid? I have watched you pivot, what message would you like to give to the community (if any)?
COVID-19 has forced the state government to force me to close my doors to the public. We’re surviving on curbside pickup and shipping from within the shop. It’s keeping us afloat for now but we can always use the extra help. The message I would give to the community is to not be fooled by all the stimulus and money promises from the government in terms of small business assistance. It’s hard and not coming in as fast as we, the small business community, need it to be so PLEASE keep patronizing your local businesses – retail, restaurants, etc. – as much as you can without putting yourselves into too big a hole. We’re business owners but also your neighbors so we eat at the same restaurants, shop at the same stores, our kids go to school together and give back to the community we all live in when we can. We’re not big CEO types with massive houses and swimming pools and fancy cars. We’re regular folks like you and need the same help. We’re all in this together.
If this isn’t too personal, I’d love to hear how the experience of you and your wife having a baby during Corona times was, how was it different than the birth of your first son?
It was intense. I was not allowed to leave the building for any reason – even to run out to my car to get something if I needed it. We were basically confined to our room – whether it was the delivery room or recovery room. If we left the room, we had to wear masks but really there was nowhere to go so after the birth/c-section, which was a little over 24 hours, we spent an additional 3+ days in recovery, just me, my wife and newborn son in 1 hospital room. That was it.
What are your favorite businesses in our community?
Besides the amazing restaurants like Java Love, Montclair House Grill, Villalobos, Tacoria, Beyond Pita, Villa Victoria, Leone’s, Palazzo, Montclair Falafel, Royal Bagels and others, I’m a huge fan of Just Kidding Around, Heratij, Cool Cat Music Company, January’s Barbershop, Pure Energy Hair Salon, Blue Lotus, Jinx Proof, Powerhouse Tattoo, the Wellmont Theater – wow – there’s just so many to name!
I saw that you joined forces with opportunities for BOUNCE, I personally think what they are doing is fantastic too. What about Montclair BOUNCE would you like people in the community to know about?
Montclair Bounce is pivoting and doing some awesome stuff to help bring events into peoples’ homes during this crisis. They are super creative and effective in bringing a variety of programs to people in Montclair and beyond. We’re happy to partner with them or anyone who is trying to make the community around us a better place. We live here and we should enjoy living here too!
- Check out Sip & Draw Comics with Brigid Allanson & Montclair BOUNCE Virtually
- Check out Learn to Draw Comics with Brigid Allanson for all ages Virtually
(862) 333-4961
7 South Fullerton Ave
Montclair, NJ 07042
Twitter: @eastsidemags
Instagram: @eastsidemags
|
|
Stay informed about family-friendly virtual events, activities, birthday fun, grocery resources and businesses that have adapted during this time by Macaroni Kid Clifton-Montclair keeps you informed in the Montclair, Cedar Grove, Little Falls, Clifton, Bloomfield, Verona, Glen Ridge, Paterson, Passaic, and Nutley. Local businesses: email me at jessicakline@macaronikid.com to discuss advertising opportunities and help getting your story into the community's eyes. |
