Nassau Street shops bustle with business after Thanksgiving

The post-Thanksgiving shopping spree has begun, and Princeton shopkeepers say they are generally pleased with the weekend's results.

Robert Landau, co-owner of Landau's on Nassau Street, said the warm-weather clothing shop is doing better business this year than ever before.

"We've been very busy all along because the weather has been 'wooly weather,' we call it," Landau said. "We've had a pretty chilly October and November."

Landau, who rated sales at 20 percent above last year's, said more students are shopping at the store than in the past. Shearling slippers and boots and pashmina shawls are among the most popular items this season, he said.

"We have the best mix of gift items we've ever had, for men and for women," Landau said. "In general, we're pretty pleased and very optimistic."

Chuck Simone, president of Hulit's Shoes on Nassau Street, said this year was "busier than last year."

Simone credits the increase in sales to numerous factors. He said he has a "larger selection of footwear" in stock than he did last year.

In addition, the cold combined with the general excitement that accompanies post-Thanksgiving shopping, has encouraged many people to head out to the stores for warmer footwear, he said.

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The "hottest-selling shoes" this year, said Simone, are Ugg boots, Australian authentic sheepskin footwear. Following the shopping craze this weekend, Hulit's is sold out of all its Ugg boots and is awaiting a new shipment.

Zoe Sloane, an employee at Jazams toy store in Palmer Square, said she has also seen "a lot of people come in" over the weekend. The most popular toys for children so far this holiday season seem to be Groovy Girls dolls by Manhattan Toy, Playmobil kits and magic sets, she said.

But Maria Laraia, manager of Village Silver, had only one word to describe the early holiday sales: "slow." Though she acknowledged that sales are "better than last year," the increase is not "tremendous."

The lack of parking in and around town is always a potential problem for shopkeepers, merchants said. Laraia said she felt business was "slow . . . because of the parking in Princeton."

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Simone said customers complained that it took them between 15 and 20 minutes just to park. But though "parking is the worst," Simone said, "people still find their way [to Hulit's]."

But despite the parking problem, business was bustling for Shop the World at the Salty Dog, which also has to contend with construction of the new parking garage and library, owner Jill Carpe said.

"We're busier than last year, which is surprising because of the construction," she said.

Shop the World is a fair-trade vendor offering tapestries, incense, candles and unique jewelry from such exotic locales as Nepal and Tibet.

"It's nice that people know what fair trade is and are choosing to buy it, instead of mass-produced junk," Carpe said. "They're buying from cooperatives and artisans all over the world."

The store has a loyal following, Carpe said.

"Lots of people came from out of town — I'm surprised they found places to park," she said. "People make a pilgrimage every year."

Neither Simone nor Laraia have noticed a trend in whether students, locals or out-of-town visitors comprised the largest contingent of shoppers they saw over the weekend. Simone said he has seen "a mixture of people from town and out of town."