NORTH LIMA B.J. Alan wants to rebuild store to help spark sales

Several obstacles are in the way of the company's plan to open a new store by May.
THE VINDICATOR, SUNDAY EDITION
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
NORTH LIMA -- B.J. Alan has 37 fireworks showrooms around the country and more than 1,200 seasonal sales centers, but one of its top sellers is missing, and the company wants it back.
William Weimer, general counsel for Youngstown-based B.J. Alan, said the company's Phantom Fireworks store in Beaver Township was one of its top five moneymakers before it was destroyed in an early-morning blaze Sept. 16.
"It was very relevant to our business plan," Weimer said, although he would not divulge sales figures.
"In my life, it's all about the Fourth of July. We have to get that building open no later than mid-May, and that means we would have to break ground in December. Otherwise, we lose the season," he said.
Company officials are scrambling to get the store rebuilt, but they've encountered some obstacles.
Zoning
First, and probably the toughest, is that the sale, storage and manufacture of fireworks is strictly banned in Beaver Township.
B.J. Alan's Phantom store there was open long before the fireworks prohibition became a part of the township zoning code, said zoning inspector Michele Swope, so it was exempt from the rule.
That exemption disappeared, however, when the company's 3,000-square-foot showroom at state Routes 46 and 11 burned. Weimer said the state fire Marshall investigated but has not given the owners an official cause for the blaze.
A new site outside Beaver Township is out of the question, Weimer explained, because the Ohio Fire Marshall issues subdivision-specific fireworks licenses, meaning the license is only good within the township boundaries.
B.J. Alan has asked Beaver Township officials to overturn its fireworks business ban for retail stores.
The township zoning commission has responded by drafting a proposal which, if approved, would allow fireworks stores to operate provided they meet certain criteria. Commission members sent the draft to the Mahoning County Planning Commission for review last week.
But the measure is still a long way from becoming law, and Weimer said the governments' meeting schedules will make it tough for the company to meet its self-imposed mid-December groundbreaking deadline.
County planners are expected to discuss the issue at their Nov. 25 meeting, Beaver zoning officials have scheduled a meeting and public hearing on the matter Dec. 2, and then the issue must go to township trustees for a final decision.
Location
Finding a suitable store location is another problem for the company.
Officials have been shopping for a new site off Market Street near the Ohio Turnpike interchange.
They're also considering rebuilding on the original site, but that location is not equipped with city waterlines.
If it goes with the original location, Weimer said, B.J. Alan would have to invest an additional $150,000 to build a drainage pond or install water tanks to supply a sprinkler system.
The company expects to spend about $500,000 on the new building, wherever it is located. Weimer promised the replacement will be "state of the art -- a completely different animal from what we lost."
Weimer said the Beaver Township store provided three, full-time year-round jobs and about 50 seasonal positions during the peak summer months. Employment at B.J. Alan's warehouse in downtown Youngstown will also be affected if the store does not reopen because the center supplied the Beaver showroom.
Phantom Fireworks had its best year ever in 2002, with double-digit sales growth in its stores open a year or more, and Weimer said the company has seen continued growth in 2003.
The company added five new showrooms around the country and more than 100 seasonal locations. It employs about 300 year-round workers and almost 1,400 seasonal workers.
vinarsky@vindy.com