Among the more lasting yarns in the annals of Maine humor is the one ending with you can’t get there from here, but when it comes to retailers with stores in Boston’s office towers, that concept has suddenly become no laughing matter.

According to the operators of various lobby shops in downtown Boston, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have had an immediate and measurable drag on their business. Office towers throughout the country have restricted or blocked access for visitors, making it impossible for passersby to visit such establishments. That, coupled with the recent economic slide, which has resulted in numerous layoffs, has slowed business at local establishments.

Yes, our sales are down, acknowledged Martin Green, owner of Martin’s News Shops, a New York-based company that has five lobby stores in various buildings in the Hub. It is an absolutely different world now than before Sept. 11.

The same is true for Hunter-Southworth Inc., which has 23 lobby shops in Greater Boston and another seven in New York City. Principal Elliot Southworth said last week that most of his stores saw a significant halt in activity during the first days after the attacks, but said the impact has become more varied in the weeks since, with some stores barely slowed at all while business at others is off by as much as 50 percent.

According to Southworth, the impact largely depends on how strict the security is at a given property. Southworth stores that have been the hardest hit are located in buildings such as 28 State St., where outside traffic is generally being prohibited. On the flip side, the Southworth’s at 225 Franklin St. has held its own, he said, because customers can use an entrance directly from the street.

The Big Dig worker can’t come in and buy a soda or lottery ticket anymore at restricted towers, Southworth noted, curbing the economic benefits previously generated from that $15 billion project. To offset that loss of business, his company has curtailed its hours at some shops, given that cut-through traffic was responsible for significant sales between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. Overtime is also being reduced, Southworth said. We’ve made all the responses we can, he said.

There’s not much more that we can do, he said. A lease is like a mortgage; it’s [the payment] due every month.

‘Times of Trauma’
Beyond foot traffic itself, Southworth said the spending habits of his customers have also been noticeably altered by the terrorist incidents. Food products and snack sales are down substantially, he said, while printed materials such as newspapers and magazines have become increasingly popular among customers clamoring to hear the latest developments. Unfortunately for his company, that is not an equal exchange, Southworth said, with the store typically receiving greater revenue from snacks than it does from periodicals.

We’re really trading dollars for less profit, he said. I make more off an Atomic Fireball than I do the Boston Globe.

Green said that he also has seen those customers who can make it to his stores purchasing fewer items. He attributes that situation to the uncertainty that is currently gripping the nation. In times of trauma, people just seem to back off, he said. They are much more reluctant to spend money.

Green, whose store at the World Trade Center was destroyed, said the shop at the John Hancock tower in Boston’s Back Bay has seen the greatest dropoff in sales locally, primarily a result of Hancock’s decision to shutter the observation deck at the top of the tower due to security concerns. Martin’s News Shops are also located in such Boston properties as 53 State St., the Berkeley Building and One Federal St.

John Fernandes, who manages the Martin’s store at 53 State St., said he feels the building owners have been reasonable in allowing access, letting people into the lobby without an intrusive search or delays. That has been helpful, Fernandes said, because much of the store’s business comes from people who do not work at the tower.

Interestingly, Fernandes said activity at his store has been different from the patterns noticed by Southworth, with food items doing well while periodical sales have been slowed. He attributed that trend to anxiety among his customers.

People are very nervous, Fernandes said. They believe a chocolate bar will calm them down.

Overall, however, Fernandes said sales at 53 State St. have not recovered since the attacks, adding he is unsure when business will return to normal. While insisting that things will pick up eventually, he said that at present, People are being very careful about what they spend.

Southworth said he believes conditions are even worse for lobby shops and newsstands operating at airports, although his company does not focus on that market segment. As for his own slate of business, Southworth said he does think the recent incidents will fundamentally change the thinking of providing retail space in office towers.

I know I’ll take a much harder look at building access and the physical location of the store, he said.