Local Businesses Reach Out To Help Mini-Mart

Local business owners are coming together to support a convenience store that, as recently as last week, said they

A number of local Malden businesses, from electricians to lighting specialists to carpenters, will be helping Malden Mini-Market owner Dharam Jain rearrange the store to increase safety and make the store less of a target for crime.

Changes will include transferring the clerk's desk to the other side of the store so it can be seen from the street and so a cashier can see out the front door, moving the register to minimize access to non-employees, printing up signs advising customers they are on surveillance camera, brighter lights and more.

“I come in here all the time,” Central Printing owner Eric Bonarrigo said, noting his store is just doors away.

He'll be printing free signage for the store.

“They're elderly – they're close to retiring – and people just keep coming in with total disregard to anyone around them...it's worth addressing.”

Father and son Tom and Kevin Kierce will be working to move the store's counter, which should be moved by the end of the week.

“The way (the store is laid out now), he can't see who is coming in,” Kevin observed. “It's just something we can give back to the community. Anytime you can give back a little bit, it helps.”

Jain said he continued to be encouraged by the attention his case has received, and will remain open as long as he can.

He remains skeptical he can continue staffing the convenience store, which he otherwise mans from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day.