Back in Town: Verizon Wireless

And the new occupant of the former Verizon Wireless store on Beechwood Road is...a Verizon Wireless store.

The store opened last month under new ownership, and although it shares a name with its predecessor, much about the store seems improved.

The former store, which closed this summer, had a sparse selection of phones and accessories, as well as limited hours and long waits for merchandise orders.

The new Verizon Wireless store is flush with a fresh stock of cellular phones, datacards, chargers and carrying cases. The owners have added seating in the form of bright red benches and bar stools. To cut down on customer wait times, the store will generally have two employees present on weekdays, with three on weekends, manager Naveen Dutta said in an interview Wednesday. Store hours were 7 am to 10 pm during the week of Thanksgiving and are now Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm; 10 am to 6 pm on Sunday.

"We are bringing the professionalism that should be there in a small mom-and-pop business," Dutta said. "We provide everything here - big services and small services. We've had people who can't connect their Bluetooth in their cars come and park out front and we do it."

That service extends to cell phones and plans, he added. The new store is what's known as a "premium retailer," meaning that in contrast to an "authorized retailer," it must meet standards set by Verizon Wireless for its corporate stores, Dutta said.

"We are not cell phone salesmen here, we are consultants. We ask you important questions about your needs and wants; we do a wireless analysis, and then we recommend."

The store is owned by partners Dutta, Vishal Madhar, and Sonu Kumar, all related by marriage ("Sonu's sister is married to Vishal, and Vishal's sister is married to me," Dutta said). Dutta and Kumar immigrated from northern India seven and ten years ago, respectively, and recently moved to Boonton. Madhar lives on Long Island, Dutta said. The joint venture, known as JNY, is their first together, but Dutta said he operated six Verizon Wireless stores in Quad Cities, Iowa. Dutta said he studied engineering and electronics, did post-graduate work in wireless telecommunications, and holds an MBA. Madhar is also a former engineer with an MBA, he said.

The men scoped out several possible locations before deciding on the Beechwood Road store, Dutta said.

"Summit is a good town. Starbucks and the train station are right here. We watched the traffic, and I think it should be good," he said.

A Verizon Wireless store in the Short Hills Mall is less convenient for Summit-area residents and has longer wait times for service than the Summit store, Dutta believes.  

The new store offers the latest phones and accessories, among them MiFi and data cards for computer wireless connections, a full range of Blackberries; newer cell phones, such as Droids, and accessories like memory cards, retractable car phone chargers, and car phone chargers that can simultaneously charge a USB device like an iPod, Dutta said.

The partners are trying to get word of the store out with fliers and a mailer in The Star Ledger. But the store already seems busier than its predecessor; Kumar was helping customers on two recent morning visits.

"The biggest challenge we had," Dutta said, "is beating the reputation of the previous store."