The Beach, the tanning salon and gift shop which once occupied 4-6 Hulfish St. in Princeton Borough, closed its doors over Labor Day weekend.
By: George Frey
The lights suddenly went cold at a Princeton tanning salon recently, and some customers may have been left badly burned.
The Beach, the tanning salon and gift shop which once occupied 4-6 Hulfish St. in Princeton Borough, closed its doors over Labor Day weekend, according to people with memberships there and neighboring shopkeepers.
"I heard they weren’t renewing their lease there, and I thought it was their obligation to tell me that they were leaving," said former customer Carol Damon of Princeton Township. "If you have a prepaid agreement, they are obligated to tell you what they are doing."
Ms. Damon said she had bought 10 tanning sessions for about $70 and had made only three visits. The last time Ms. Damon visited The Beach was Aug. 26, she said, when she received no mention of its closing. On Sept. 1, the next time Ms. Damon visited, it was closed with no forwarding address or contact information on the door, she said. There is also no message left on The Beach phone number.
Diane Bladecki, the owner, could not be reached for comment.
Ted Golfinopoulos, of T.G. and Associates, the management company of the property, said the lease on the shop expired Aug. 31 and that he had received word that The Beach would be leaving six months ago. He said he does not know why the owner decided to leave or where she had gone.
"They were looking for greener pastures," he said. "I think they were financially healthy."
Mr. Golfinopoulos said the neighboring Cork Screw Wine Shop would be expanding into the 750-square-foot space around the end of the year, but did not say if that was a factor in The Beach leaving.
Neighboring shopkeepers also said they had no idea why the store had closed, where Ms. Bladecki was or how she could be reached.
A spokesman at the Mercer County consumer affairs department said Wednesday that the department had not received any complaints regarding The Beach’s closing.
The Mercer County consumer affairs department can be reached at (609) 989-6671.

