As if worries about the economy weren’t enough, at Metuchen’s Forum Theatre on the morning of July 16, 2009, speaker Joseph Getz, founder of business consultants JGSC Group, made a startling announcement to a 50-member strong audience composed of local business owners and community leaders.

“We are going into a time when shopping malls were once restricted to national chains, but in the future they will have doctors’ and dentists’ offices, and barbershops,” Getz said. “Most retail mall developers are now suffering, and what retail malls want to do is to re-identify the mall as the center of the community. I am sorry about alarming you of the economy and the prospects of a bad economy, but if you want to have something to worry about, you should worry about this. We need to find a way to do things better and more efficiently in the future.”

Bringing with him 25 years of experience helping retail developers become successful, Getz had been invited to speak as part of a free workshop organized by Metuchen Savings Bank in collaboration with the Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce. Bank Vice President Lorraine Mulligan and Chamber President David Glasofer were instrumental in organizing the workshop. Read the full story