Sourabh ‘Sam’ Jain plans to open Bombay River Indian Restaurant Saturday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

After just two months of vacancy, the space that held Red Bank’s only Vietnamese restaurant is about to open as an Indian restaurant — with a culinary twist.

Also in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn: news of a beauty supply shop putting the cap on its lipstick one last time.

Lux owner Linda Martino center, chats with Jon Bon Jovi at a 2016 event at JBJ Soul Kitchen. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

• Sourabh ‘Sam’ Jain plans to open his Bombay River Indian Restaurant at 90 Broad Street Saturday, just eight weeks and one extensive interior makeover after the departure of prior tenant Pho Le, which had the space for six years and closed due to retirement in February.

Jain, who says his first name means ‘fragrant’ in his native language, says Indian food “is all about flavors, all about aromas,” and he plans to offer them in abundance in this, his first solely owned restaurant. The 40-year-old Old Bridge resident has previously been a partner in two restaurants, and before that worked in the event catering side of the hospitality industry, he said.

While Bombay River opens as Red Bank’s only Indian eatery, some items on its menu will offer a global twist: traditional Indian ingredients, such as chicken marinated in Indian spices, but served in Mexican wrappers: fajitas and burritos.

“I had a dream in which I thought, why not bring those flavors together?” Jain said.

• Two doors away, at 88 Broad Street, Linda and Paul Martino are closing Lux Beauty Store at the end of May.

After eight years of running the store, “it’s our choice to close,” Linda tells Churn. “We’re still making money, but I just don’t want the ball and chain of retail anymore.”

She says she expects to look for non-retail work while Paul continues to operate the business as a wholesale supplier to beauty salons.