A surprisingly cool slice of everything, for less

by Sarah Lariviere

photos by Jennifer Taylor

Except, says owner Jack Brown, Jax is not a dollar store: "The number-one perception that we are principally a dollar store is not correct." The Central Square Jax -- one branch of Brown's three-store chain -- adjusts its merchandise according to local demand. "If dollar goods are needed, we can convert to lower end. Now that things are much better, and people are spending freely, we have more space devoted to higher end, such as clothing."

Jax is crammed with brightly colored everything -- hanging, stacked, on shelves, in bins, hanging from bins stacked on shelves. The dollar-store basics (cooking spices, washcloths, votive candles) are represented at the going dollar-or-so rate. Other merchandise is a little more expensive. The disco lights are $9.99. Men's embroidered shirts go for $7.99 to $15; ladies' flowered T-shirts are 3 for $10. Burgundy vinyl slippers, suitable for use with smoking jackets and cigars, come in men's and ladies' sizes. "Ladies fancy shoes" are a netted, sequined steal for $2.99.

Bathmats striped in spruce and chartreuse cost $7. Wide-mouthed latte mugs -- think Friends -- in a royal blue, green, or red glaze go for 99 cents (look out, Pottery Barn!). A giant chrome-looking diner-style clock, suitable for the most '50s-ish of kitchens, sells for $10.

Brown says the dizzying range of merchandise is due to the neighborhood dynamic -- the "constant struggle" to serve both the moneyed Kendall Square high-tech crowd (whom he calls "day-trippers") and the neighborhood's residents, who tend to be on a considerably more restricted budget. There's no big secret to keeping prices down, he says. "We'd just as soon sell as many pairs of pants as possible, so if we get a deal, we pass it along."