The business has operated at 35 Broad Street since 1997. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, filmmaker Kevin Smith‘s comic books and collectibles store in downtown Red Bank, plans to move to another not-so-secret Broad Street location, he announced Wednesday.
The Stash will take over a long-vacant storefront at the corner of Wallace and Broad Streets. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
After 23 years at 35 Broad Street, the shop will move to 65 Broad, a long-vacant single-story building on the southeast corner of Wallace Street that’s been the on-and-off home of a rug store.
Smith, whose celebrity is itself a fan magnet for the Secret Stash, announced the move on Facebook. He said the present location would close December 28, with the new shop debuting in the first week of January.
“As hard as The Stash was hit by Covid closures and other setbacks that made 2020 such an unprecedented disaster, Jay and Silent Bob are clearly too stupid to comprehend that the world doesn’t need them or their store anymore,” Smith wrote. “So they’re building a better mousetrap just down the street.”
In addition to serving as home to a rug business that always had a “going out of business” sign at the ready, the new location has in the past served as an election-night gathering spot for local Democrats. It’s been owned since 2008 by B & M Realty Management of New York City.
Smith, a writer, actor and director who made a splash with a breakout indie film ‘Clerks’ in 1994, is a Monmouth County native and frequent visitor to his store. His appearances to sign merch have drawn lines of fans extending around the block.
Smith recently transformed Gianni’s Pizza on Maple Avenue into a Mooby’s hamburger shop for one week, leveraging a fictional fast food brand featured in some of his films.
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The business has operated at 35 Broad Street since 1997. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
The Stash will take over a long-vacant storefront at the corner of Wallace and Broad Streets. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)