'I'm going to miss all that': Borden's in Point Peasant Beach closing after 104 years

POINT PLEASANT BEACH - Borden's, a stationery store that has served as a gateway for the borough's downtown shopping district for more than a century, plans to close when its lease expires Jan. 31, 2023, the shop's owner said.

Barry Lubin said he is nearing retirement age and his three sons haven't shown interest in taking over the family business. But even if they did, he said, he would steer them in another direction.

"The writing has been on the wall for many years that this is just not a growing business," Lubin said.

Borden's sells stationery, greeting cards, office supplies, school supplies and gifts. And it made its mark thanks to its prime location on the corner of Arnold and Richmond avenues that couldn't go unnoticed by visitors to the borough.

It's closing is another sign of the times. Competitors from Staples to Amazon have slowly chipped away at Borden's customer base. Brides and grooms who once went to Borden's for wedding invitations now can turn to Evite and send their invitations online.

Point Pleasant Beach:See inside 'Sinatra house', complete with summer wind

'You could always stop at Borden's'

Since Lubin announced the store's closing a month ago, customers have stopped in, taking advantage of discounts and pausing to reflect.

Phil Coffin, 69, of Point Pleasant Beach, visited Borden's one recent day to buy a birthday card for his grandson, noting it was a task his grandson, growing up in the digital age, likely will never do.

"It's sad for those of us who have been shopping here for a long time," Coffin said. "It had always been something that was here, something that was reliable. You could always stop at Borden's for what you needed. It's sad to see something like that leaving Point Pleasant."

New in town:Mugsy’s Mercantile from Chef Meg LaManna opens in Point Pleasant Beach

Borden's was founded as a variety store in 1918 by Ralph Borden and his son, William, in the lobby of the former Grove Theatre. The business changed hands beginning in the mid-1960s, before Lubin took the reins in 1991 from his father-in-law, Edward Slater.

For Lubin, it turned out to be a good fit.

Lubin, 64, lives in Belmar with his wife, Susan, a retired school teacher. They have three adult sons, Sam and Ben, both 31, and Matthew, 28.

Lubin grew up in Maryland, attended Towson University in Baltimore and moved to New Jersey to work for Stern's department store. He later worked in the wholesale business, selling luggage, umbrellas and the like, before Slater asked him if he wanted to take over Borden's.

It was a tough decision; he said he wasn't given a family-friendly discount. But the venture also offered him a chance to build a business on his own. Within a month, he expanded the store's hours to open on Sundays. And he took to the job, working closely with customers, even if it meant "downselling," talking them out of buying something they didn't need.

Point Pleasant Beach:Spicy's in Point Pleasant Beach serves Mexican fare, 'elevated' margaritas

'A world where small business was king'

At its peak, the store had 25 employees, enough that Lubin could take days off or leave at 5 p.m.

But the competition only grew more intense. Office supply stores and drug store chains multiplied. Sales representatives who once saw small businesses as their bread-and-butter began showing less interest. And Amazon took a toll; Borden's would lose money on a customer who wanted to buy one Sharpie pen and have it delivered, Lubin said.

"We've gone from a world where small business was king, to many areas where small businesses being stretched out," Lubin said.

If he had a board of directors, Lubin said, they probably would have urged him to close a decade ago. But he kept at it, albeit with a smaller footprint. His staff was whittled down to five. And he consolidated, moving from the original space four years ago into an adjacent store that is one-third of the size.

While the pandemic gave him temporary breathing room through the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program, new obstacles, including the disruption of the supply chain and inflation, began to emerge.

Point Pleasant Beach:Long-awaited Boatyard401 is now open

The finish line, however, is in sight. Lubin will be 65 in December. His lease expires a month later. And after that? He plans to do nothing for a while, although he said he and his wife have booked a cruise.

"I'm going to miss the people, what I call playing store," he said. "Because it was all always playing. I enjoy it. It's what I like to do, chit-chatting with people, becoming friends with customers. I'm going to miss all that."

Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.