Alina Rose Chen Photo
New Haven Powersports owner Jodi Green with her "customer service" reps, golden retrievers Rossi and Cooper.
It’s been over 50 years since Jodi Green’s father, David MacQuarrie, founded New Haven Powersports. Over the decades, she’s seen the business, the city, and Whalley Avenue evolve side by side.
MacQuarrie launched the company back in 1972, back when Whalley was known as “automobile row.” They were the first Suzuki motorcycle dealer in the area. Over the years, the business has expanded to include the lots on either side of their location at 143 Whalley Ave., growing in order to accommodate their large line-up of motorcycles, scooters, and related accessories.
“I started working here straight out of high school,” Green said during an interview on Tuesday. Today, she owns the shop, accompanied by a staff of 11 employees and her two golden retrievers, Cooper and Rossi — they’re great at “customer service,” she jokes.
The Independent spoke with Green while walking Whalley Avenue block between Sperry Street and Orchard Street, as part of a new step-by-step series of articles about the commercial corridor that runs from downtown all the way out to the westernmost reaches of town.
In her 43 years on the job, Green has watched both New Haven and the business change. “I remember buying my prom dress down at Harold’s,” she said. “Now it’s an apartment building.” Next door, a former Papa John’s is being demolished to make way for 55 new housing units.
Like many businesses that rely on imports, New Haven Powersports has felt the effects of national tariffs. “Parts prices have gone up,” Green noted. Still, business remains steady — even if seasonal trends are shifting. A few years ago, she would have expected the jet skis she stocks to have been sold earlier in June — they were just picked up within the last few days.
Online sales now make up a growing portion of their business. Nevertheless, Green keeps a close eye on local developments, especially as the downtown and Broadway area redevelopment makes its way down Whalley Avenue. Even though she lives in Westbrook, being a small business owner in New Haven keeps her engaged with city politics, including during a municipal election year. “Taxes are high in New Haven,” she said. “And Yale owns a lot of land.”
Green welcomes the city’s plans to make Whalley Avenue more pedestrian-friendly, especially for her customers, who sometimes express safety concerns about the city. She tries, Green says, to correct this misconception: “It’s a great place, and we have a lot of wonderful food!”
She also thinks that the city — and the mayor — could do more work to focus on local businesses. “There’s a Lululemon and a Sweetgreen now, which is great,” she said, “but there are also a lot of small mom-and-pop shops that should be highlighted too.”
A couple of doors down Whalley, next to a Burger King, Jadon Richardson has held a chair at Headz Up Barbershop for the past three years. From Ansonia, Richardson started cutting hair while still a student at Western Connecticut State University. He launched his career with a mobile setup — visiting clients at home — before settling into Headz Up, a large, industrial-style shop shared by independent contractors at 185 Whalley Ave.
“It’s a good establishment,” he said during a separate interview Tuesday. “The atmosphere is good, the music and conversation are good. It brings people in.”
In his time on Whalley Avenue, Richardson said, not much has changed. Business has its ups and downs, but overall, it stays steady. “Yeah, things are good,” his coworker at the front desk agreed — before joking, “when we’re not getting harassed by reporters.”