People haven’t been banging down the door to buy peanuts and popcorn since the recent announcement about The Peanut Shoppe, closing its doors December 31st.
But that’s okay, says Rida AbuZaineh, manager/co-owner of the iconic business at 24 South Main Street.
“I’ll tell you why,” AbuZaineh says. “I’ve been in the business 29 years. August is a slow month because it’s back to school. Lots of kids this year are going back to school. Not virtual. They need uniforms, supplies, and so on. So, parents, they spend quite a bit on that. So, that’s why.”
And, he says, “This business thrives in the spring, early summer, and the fall and Christmas. When the weather is nice for walking. That’s what it is. ‘Cause this business depends on walk-in traffic.”
That doesn’t mean people aren’t supporting him. His Peanut Shoppe social media pages blew up, he says. “Same day you did the article, Nurah (AbuZaineh’s daughter) posted something about the closing and finale of The Peanut Shoppe. And that post generated over 12,000 hits on Facebook. On Instagram, I don’t know. On Twitter, under 50,000.”
Lily Montague, he says, “started a GoFundMe behind my back. The reason [I haven’t done one] is I have pride and integrity. I’m not going to open my hand begging people for anything. But people say to me ‘Rida, it’s okay. You’re in need and you’re desperate and you’re penniless.’ Which is the truth.
“Now, this girl, she had the goal of $2,500. The first half a day she reached about $1,200. She renewed it again. Now, I think it’s up — until a couple of days ago ‘cause I only checked it twice since day one — to $4,500 ‘cause she raised the value to $5,000.”
The total is now up to $4,600.
The Peanut Shoppe opened in 1949. AbuZaineh heard it originally opened on Madison before moving to Main Street in 1951, but he’s not sure. The AbuZaineh and Lauck families became owners and partners of the establishment on January 8th, 1993.
AbuZaineh says they weren’t told until a few months before the sale that the building was going to be sold. It will be turned into apartments and condos, he says.
As for a new location for The Peanut Shoppe, AbuZaineh says, “We don’t have a location. We have one more potential future location. We are trying to get there with the help of the owners of the building.”
People have told him, “Go to (the other end of) South Main,” AbuZaineh says. “I’m not going to wait for people to come home after 7 so I can open the doors for them.”
Others say, “Go to Beale Street.” AbuZaineh doesn’t want to “have some drunken people walk in my store. Come in with their drinks in their hand and show no respect. No.”
AbuZaineh stops and checks his GoFundMe Facebook page. “I swear to God. I just opened this. It’s only the third time I opened the page. The top spenders are 300, 250, 200, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100. I don’t know what to say. I’m about to cry.”
