PLUM ISLAND — It won't be called PJ's, but patrons may soon be able to once again buy a cup of coffee at the now-vacant building at Northern Boulevard and 43rd Street.
The property changed hands two weeks ago and while the new owner hasn't been identified, real estate brokers for both the buyer and the seller said yesterday that the plan is to open a coffee shop/convenience store similar to the one that provided nourishment and conversation to Plum Islanders for 30 years.
The buyer's broker, Linda McKeehan of Keller Williams Realty in Topsfield, said the new store will be called Plum Crazy. The deed on file at the Essex South Registry in Salem lists the buyer as Plum Crazy LLC. Organizational records on file at the Corporation Division of the secretary of state's office in Boston list the "manager" of Plum Crazy LLC as Kurt Littlefield.
The organization papers say Plum Crazy LLC's primary purpose will be "to operate a diner, ice cream shop, retail food and convenience store establishment for the sale of food, beverages, household products and consumer goods to the public."
The seller was Julian Geiger, the CEO of the Aeropostale clothing line, whose late wife, Jeanne, bought it in June 2004 for $465,000.
Geiger's broker, Jean-Francois Barre of Newburyport's ReMax on The River, said the sale price was $410,000. That's well below the asking price of $529,000 that Barre quoted when the property went on the market in October.
The assessed valuation of the property is $547,900, according to assessors' records in Newbury.
Jeanne Geiger had purchased the former Walton's Ocean Front Hotel on Fordham Way for almost $5 million in 2003. She was transforming it into a luxury hotel called blue The Inn on the Beach when she died in February 2005 after a fall from the building's third story.
Jeanne Geiger had planned to either make the former PJ's into a restaurant or a catering business. While Julian Geiger has retained numerous properties on Plum Island, the building at 134 Northern Blvd. didn't fit his plans, Barre said.
Former owner Jane McNeal opened PJ's in May 1974. She operated an eatery and coffee shop with takeout service and a small convenience store in the building.
Over the years, PJ's became a gathering spot for Plum Islanders, a place to exchange gossip and talk about local politics — and anything else that came to mind.
Construction crews have been doing renovation work on the building for several days and Barre said the new owner wants to open as soon as possible.
