By Ted Bordelon
Wire Managing Editor
It’s not easy running a small business in today’s economy.
The prevalence of big box stores such as Walmart coupled with the ongoing impact of the Great Recession has caused many decades-old businesses to shutter their windows in recent years, and has killed a number of start-ups that would have stood a chance in better economic times.
Hatboro-based interior designer Helen Lauterio has operated her small business for 39 years, and was feeling the pains of the bad economy firsthand a year ago.
Customer levels had dipped, and the short-lived “263 Marketplace” on York Road in Warminster had closed its doors.
Lauterio and a handful of other vendors who had booths at the marketplace were left looking for a new place to do business.
The 72-year-old decided to take matters into her own hands and, along with about a dozen other vendors, opened a new indoor marketplace in Huntingdon Valley.
“I think neighborhood business is the most important thing for a community,” Lauterio said, noting that her decision to head the group of vendors at “Lauterio & Friends” on County Line Road is rooted in her belief that small businesses can achieve what box stores simply cannot.
“We’ve lost sight of the fact that buying from a small business is a visit as well as a sale,” Lauterio said. “I think a lot of people realize that there are few people at big box stores that can give them the advice they’d get from a small business owner.”
While her surname is decidedly Italian, Lauterio speaks with an Irish brogue and was born near Cork, Ireland.
“You can tell we’re a mixed marriage considering one of my son’s names is ‘Patrick,’ ” Lauterio said.
She left Ireland when she was 18 to pursue her career, which she says was in her blood.
“When I was small, I remember I used to make little crafts out of practically anything,” Lauterio said, adding that she comes from a long line of architects and designers, notably her grandfather, “Old Accurate.”
“You know, the Irish used to give everyone nicknames like that,” Lauterio said.
Lauterio & Friends features a variety of businesses including a fashion boutique, a gourmet cupcake boutique, a scrubs vendor, a bathroom and kitchen remodeler and a video-to-DVD conversion vendor.
The mini-mall also features Lauterio’s window treatment services and a consignment shop.
“The biggest thing is that all 12 of us were able to stay in business,” Lauterio said. “With the way rent payments are, it’s been great that we can band together here.”
Lauterio said that the reaction from customers, thus far, has been “awesome.”
On the first Saturday of each month, Lauterio & Friends hosts a free wine and snacks afternoon, which includes free entertainment for meandering shoppers, as well.
“It’s really an old-fashioned way of doing business but I think people have really appreciated it,” Lauterio said.
Lauterio & Friends is located at 1966 County Line Road in Huntingdon Valley.
