The climate

Despite small businesses in Brookline facing economic challenges, many small business owners praise Brookline’s small-business-friendly nature.

According to Mary Lynn Pergantis, customer support and the attitudes of town residents in the community are crucial to Party Favors’s success.

“What we like about Brookline is that people are very loyal here. It has a small-town feel, so you get to know your customers and see many of the same people several times,” Pergantis said. “Generally, if Brookline residents find a business they enjoy, they are very loyal to this business. I think any small business owner in town would tell you that.”

Coolidge Corner Theatre’s Deputy Director Beth Gilligan said town residents feel the importance of supporting small businesses, especially after the devastation COVID-19 inflicted upon them.

“Certainly, it was sad to see a lot of storefront vacancies in the Coolidge Corner area, and in the aftermath of the pandemic, I think that [it] is always difficult to see,” Gilligan said. “In Brookline, there is a strong strain of social consciousness, social responsibility [and a feeling of] wanting to do the right thing and support local independent businesses.”

Business and local political leaders within the town, such as Brookline’s Town Historian Ken Liss, said the town is a welcoming environment for those seeking to start their own businesses, attributing the success of small businesses in Brookline to many of the town’s economic policies.

“I know the town’s Economic Development Office has done much to foster the development of small businesses in Brookline,” Liss said. “The Chamber of Commerce has taken many steps to grow the small businesses in Brookline, and recently they’ve pushed to add more minority-owned businesses throughout Brookline.”

Heather Hamilton, Chair of the Brookline Select Board, said the strong support Brookline residents show for their small businesses has been instrumental to the success of these businesses during challenging times.

“Brookline clientele enjoy buying local, and we support our small businesses. We enjoy great quality and don’t mind paying for a good product,” Hamilton said.

Executive Director of the Brookline Chamber of Commerce Debbie Miller said the town is a hospitable environment for small business entrepreneurs but expressed caution about the present challenges facing small businesses.

“It is still a difficult time, not as difficult as it was a year ago, but still difficult nonetheless,” Miller said. “Businesses are finding that hiring is more of an issue, prices have increased and having a small business is different than it was three years ago.”

Brookline Booksmith co-owner Lisa Gozashti said these challenges have left the climate of small businesses uncertain and forced owners to work harder to maintain their operations.

“I think that, in general, the climate for owning a small business has been pretty bleak unless you’re at the very top of your game, working in whichever field you may be. That’s certainly tough for businesses,” Gozashti said.

However, Gozashti said the community’s emphasis on curiosity and learning has allowed the Booksmith to thrive.

“Being in this town has also provided us great opportunities, seeing as the population is so intellectually curious. The Brookline community is one of the United States’ most well-read and intellectually curious populations,” Gozashti said. “We exist in an incredibly intellectually diverse, creative and engaged population.”

Her Brookline Booksmith co-owner, Peter Wen, said he credits the passionate community of Brookline Booksmith shoppers for keeping the business flourishing for decades.

“People in Brookline like books, care about education and learning and want to have conversations about current events, all of which are ideal for our business,” Wen said. “Being in existence for sixty years has laid the foundation for our community support, so we have a lengthy history of being a successful independent business upon which we can draw many lessons. We don’t just sell you products, we sell you experiences you’ll cherish for a long time.”