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First it was Island Ford, then it was Linens and Things, then Circuit City and Ethan Allen, all major retailers along Richmond Avenue forced to close or relocate because of the faltering economy.

"The economy is definitely struggling in this area," said resident Dawn Massamillo. "I am a little fearful of what's going on here because there are many local stores that have been in our community for a long time that are shutting down. I definitely have concerns."

These concerns are shared by the small businesses left behind, especially those who relied on daily food deliveries and catering orders to get by. At Bario's Pizza, lunch and dinner crowds have not fallen off, but owner says the loss of the major retailers has had an impact:

"Island Ford, almost everyday we had accounts with them," said Bario's owner Alfred Pucciarelli. "Sandwiches for their parties, all their corporate meetings and stuff like that. Now with them out of business, it kind of makes it harder for us getting new accounts and everything; a lot of people are not spending the money like they should be."

The bagel store down the road has also felt the effects.

Business owners here say people are not buying prepared breakfast and lunch like they used to, but they are coming in to shop for staple items like milk and eggs more frequently, giving the Superette a unique upside in the downturn.

"A lot of people used to go far away to get stuff, like supermarkets or something," said Superette owner Hamza Khan. "Now they don't have cars. Now they don't want to travel so much and they are home all the time, so local businesses like us we see a little bit more customers because of that too."

To help fight off the impacts of the recession, small business owners have come up with some pretty creative ways of keeping old customers and attracting new ones.

"A long time ago pizza was $1.25 a slice. With everything going up, the wheat, the flour, everything, we had to raise our prices to $2.50," said Bario's owner. "Now with the economy struggling and everything, we've decided to make our pizza a dollar a slice, help out the economy a little bit, give families with five kids or whatever the chance to spend $10 on a dinner. This way it'll be easier for them."

Barios is not the only place trying to give customers a break. Ten months ago, two retired veterans decided to open a hot dog stand to help pay their bills, and they say the concession stand was a smart idea in this economy.

"We sell two hot dogs and a soda for $4.50 and we get a few customers that buy here because the price is right," said vendor G. Staziale. "It's a cheap lunch."

A cheap lunch is what many say they appreciate in this economic climate.