RED BANK: CHURN GALORE
Marcos Ramirez shows customer Chris Hawkins his haircut at the newly opened Red Bank R Barber Shop on Shrewsbury Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
[Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly reported that Playa Bowls needs variances to open. The plan has been approved and no variances were needed, according to borough officials.]
By JOHN T. WARD
Kicking off its second decade of covering the endless comings and goings of Red Bank merchants, redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has the scoop on these churnings:
• The debut of new dance studio
• One barber shop opens, and another relocates
• The departure of a “hippie shop” and plans by a tailor to replace it
• A fruit bowl business plans to open
• RiverCenter puts a bow on 2015
All that and more awaits, just around the “read more” corner…
Rytis Koreiva, his brother and their wives have opened an Arthur Murray Dance Studio on Broad Street. (Photo below by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
• The new Arthur Murray Dance Studio at 140 Broad Street, between Peters Place and Reckless Place, is owned by four dancers: brothers Rytis and Linas Koreiva and their respective wives, Eglė and Catherine.
The 5,000-square-foot space features three ballrooms, where the Lithuanian emigrés give instruction in a wide variety of dance styles, says 35-year-old Rytis.
• Creative Kitchens is relocating from 19 East Front Street to 15 Mechanic Street, seen in the photo at left. The space is next door to Zaitooni Deli.
• Two brothers — Marcos and Ricardo Ramirez — and their cousin, George Ramirez, have opened a new barbershop at 161B Shrewsbury Avenue. The three-chair shop is called Red Bank R Barber Shop, with that extra “R” for Ramirez, Marcos tells Churn.
The 950-square-foot space, previously leased by a mobile phone retailer, is located next door to the Union Hose firehouse.
• After five years at 19 West Front Street, the Inner Eye has moved out. A handwritten sign says the business, which sold “peace, basically,” according to a 2011 Churn report, relocated to Aberdeen.
Moving in, according to a filing at borough hall, is a clothing store and tailoring shop operated by Vincent Sciortino, who now plies his trade at 3 East Front.
• Vatsal and TJ Patel, right, brothers-in-law who own a deli in Jackson Township, recently opened the long-dormant Subway sandwich shop at 60 Broad Street.
“This is a nice downtown,” said Vatsal, who formerly worked in a Subway in Middletown and now owns one in Monroe Township. “I feel like it’s a mini-Manhattan.”
• Playa Bowls, a Belmar-based seller of fruit bowls and smoothies, has gotten borough planning and zoning office permission to open at 14 West Front Street. The space has been vacant since the controversial shutdown of Lucky Break Billiards in 2013.
The Morgan family, which owns a number of downtown buildings, acquired the building last year from Mehmet Ors.
• Old World Shaving Parlor has relocated a few doors west, from 4B West Front Street, to 12 West Front, last occupied by interior designer Amy Manor.
• The downtown promotion agency Red Bank RiverCenter has published its annual report for 2015, in which it notes that storefront vacancies in the special improvement district are down to 5.4 percent, compared to 41 percent when it was formed in 1991.
The report also spotlights the arrival of 18 new businesses last year. They are (with links to redbankgreen coverage):
Boutique Realty
Lily’s Nails
West Elm
Here’s the report: Red Bank RiverCenter Annual Report 2015