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CHURN: EYE CARE, BODY WAX, CLOTHES & MORE

del negro 022116A new eye care practice in Red Bank has taken space formerly occupied by an architecture firm.  (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallIn this (long overdue) edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn:

• A new ophthalmology practice and eyewear store has opened on Broad Street.

• So have a body-waxing business and a women’s clothing store.

We’ve also got news on a couple of relocations within town, a couple of pending openings, and a closing — in other words, all the essential ingredients of a Churn cocktail.

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RED BANK: JUICING UP WEST SIDE LOFTS

west side lofts 021816The West Side Lofts, as seen from West Front Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallIn keeping with its resemblance to a stack of shipping containers, Red Bank’s West Side Lofts project is packing them in.

Since opening last spring, all 90 of its residential apartments have been leased. The West Elm furniture and housewares store has opened, taking one of two anchor spots. The second anchor, Triumph Brewing Company, is expected to open its restaurant in coming months.

And to close out the leasing spree, the project’s developer is bringing in two local small businesses, redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has learned: Freshica’s Juice Bar and Rumson Personal Fitness.

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RED BANK: BOUTIQUE HAS (MOVIE) MOB TIES

wish 28 021216The interior of Wish 28, owned by twin sisters — and itself the twin of a boutique called Wish in Morris County. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallIn this Retail Churn: The latest addition to the Red Bank shopping scene is a women’s clothing and accessories store owned by two women with mob ties.

The fictional mob, that is.

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RED BANK: DUXIANA DEPARTS; SUSHI COMING

37 broad 011416The Duxiana store has vacated the building dubbed the Temple of Fashion, built in 1894. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallIn this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn: a flurry of activity to report from Broad Street in Red Bank, including:

• a new vacancy in a historic building in the center of the downtown

• the recent opening of Red Bank Family Pharmacy

• plans for a new sushi restaurant

Plus, there’s interesting news about a new restaurant coming to the Grove in Shrewsbury.

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CHURN: FAST GREEK AND EASY WEDDINGS

lyristis bros 111615Brothers George, Charlie and Taso Lyristis plan to open Greek Eats on the Shrewsbury side of Newman Springs Road Tuesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallIn this edition of Retail Churn:

• Three brothers with a long track record as linen-napkin restaurateurs open a fast-food eatery rooted in their Greek heritage Tuesday.

• A wedding planning business that has its roots in a flower shop throws off a new shoot in Red Bank.

• A ginormous pharmacy chain opens a controversial store here.

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RED BANK: WEST ELM PUTS DOWN ROOTS

west elm 102115 2west elm 102115 1The new West Elm furniture store at West Front Street and Bridge Avenue in Red Bank opens for business at 10 a.m. Thursday. redbankgreen got inside for a sneak peak on Wednesday.

With nearly 11,000 square feet of floor space, West Elm is among the largest retailers in town by floor space. It’s one of two businesses that will anchor the new, 91-unit West Side Lofts residential project — the other being Triumph Brewing Company, slated to open early next year, according to project developer Metrovation.  (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

CHURN: THE SPOT, SORELLA BELLA & SCAFFOLD

cassie fishkin 102015Cassie Fishkin has purchased both Mac Attack restaurants, including the one on Broad Street, and rebranded them as the Spot. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallIn this edition of Retail Churn:

• A 28-year-old woman who’s already had a brief career as a lawyer has acquired both Mac Attack Cheesery restaurants — one in Red Bank and the other in Montclair — and is giving the menu a complete makeover in keeping with a dream she’s fostered since she was 16.

• Three Ocean County sisters have opened a women’s clothing store on Monmouth Street.

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CHURN: BUZZ @ WEST ELM, CHIPOTLE & THE BEE

west elm 100815 3Letters for a West Elm sign were laid out on the sidewalk for an installer last Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallIn this edition of Retail Churn:

• News about Brooklyn-based boho furniture retailer West Elm‘s new store…

• a women’s clothing store called the bee plans to build a nest in a long-vacant space downtown…

• and signs of movement at the yet-to-open Chipotle Mexican Grill

all here in beautiful Red Bank, New Jersey.

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CHURN: TRAP DOOR, BELMONTE TO OPEN

58-60 white 080315Trap Door Escape Room opens this week in the former home of Dunlap Locksmith, which left behind a front door with a giant keyhole cut into it. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallIn this edition of Retail Churn: updates on a new immersive-experience entertainment facility and a rebranded restaurant,  both of which have openings in downtown Red Bank planned for this week.

Also in Churn: a music store for sale; updates on two pharmacies, and a furniture store coming to Shrewsbury.

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CHURN: DELFINI OUT, TWO SWEET SHOPS IN

randi garfinkel 083115Randi Garfinkel with the chocolate fountain in the newly opened Chocolate Works. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallThe neverending Churn of Red Bank stores and restaurants continued in recent weeks with a departure of an Italian deli on the West Side and the addition to Broad Street of two shops that take aim right at your craving for sweets.

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CHURN: PROWN’S TO LEAVE RED BANK

david prown 042615Prown’s Home Improvements owner David Prown, seen at the Red Bank International Flavour Festival in April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn small After 90 years in Red Bank, Prown’s is leaving town.

The windows-and-doors dealer, a former five-and-dime that won enduring devotion as a retailer of “everything” needed for household upkeep, plans to move to Middletown, its owner said Wednesday.

More details, and news of a bagel store eyeing a Red Bank location, right around the “read more” corner.

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CHURN: SIGNS OF THE PAST… AND FUTURE

18 broad 082415Builder Mike Rovere uncovered turn-of-the-century signs in gold leaf on either side of the facade at 18 Broad, home to a series of shoe stores dating back to 1883. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallSummer doldrums? Not in this installment of redbankgreen’s Retail Churn, which finds downtown Red Bank abuzz with Churnage, as usual.

We’ve got renovation work uncovering history at the site of a planned restaurant; progress on two other new businesses; and more news, right around the “read more” corner.

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CHURN: HOUSEWARES, TRAP DOOR AND MORE

kathleen conlon 081415 2Kathleen Conlon bought the onetime gas station that’s now Welcome Home, her housewares shop on East Front Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallThis installment of redbankgreen’s Retail Churn pops in on a new housewares-and-gifts shop in Red Bank.

We’ve also got an update on an escape-themed entertainment “house” planned downtown; the rebranding of Red restaurant; and a planned move by Red Ginger Home.

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CHURN: FEMME OUT, CHIKYBOOM IN

femme show 2 120612Ashley Dupré Earle, center, at a fashion show in her boutique in February, 2012. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallThis installment of redbankgreen’s Retail Churn brings news of a lingerie store closing and a coffee shop getting a complete makeover, down to the name.

Ashley (nee Dupré) Earle, owner of Femme by Ashley, at 15 Broad Street, announced in an email to customers Wednesday that she’s closing the four-year-old lingerie and swimwear boutique to focus on raising her two children.

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RETAIL CHURN: EAT, WEAR AND INVEST

jim lin 110314Jim Lin, owner of Oriental Empire, said customers of his Ocean Township restaurant urged him to open one in Red Bank. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Rcsm2_010508In this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn, we’ve got details on these recent developments in ever-churning downtown Red Bank:

• Oriental Empire, a restaurant offering a mix of Asian cuisines, opened last month at 54 English Plaza.

• A former sales associate at the recently departed Nirvana is opening her own women’s clothing store on Broad Street.

• A restaurant called Hansel & Griddle plans to open on West Front Street.

• A nail salon changes hands and rebrands.

• The space formerly occupied by office supply retailer Staples is turning into office space for a securities brokerage.

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RED BANK: PARTY OUT BACK AT STATION PLACE

rb station pl 081914 1rb station pl 081914 2For weeks, it’s looked like a giant version of Thomas Edison’s ‘Black Maria,” a hulking four-story monolith of funereal blackness taking up half a block of Monmouth Street in Red Bank. But things are a lot less dour on the other side of the Station Place apartment complex under construction, as the photo at right shows. Developer Roger Mumford tells redbankgreen the project will be completed by late November, when leasing will begin. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

RED BANK: TALKING SHORE FOOD HISTORY

schnitzspahn 1Author Karen Schnitzspahn brings her knowledge of local cuisine history to the Red bank Public Library tonight. (Photo by Rebecca Desfosse. Click to enlarge)

By JIM WILLIS

It’s a Friday afternoon sometime in the late 1880s. A guy walks into a saloon in Red Bank. Which saloon isn’t important, because Red Bank is crowded with watering holes, but let’s say it’s Frank Clausey’s tavern on West Front Street.

Now, there would be a list a mile long of differences between his happy hour experience and our modern day experience of ordering up a martini at the Downtown. But two worth noting, according to Little Silver author and historian Karen Schnitzspahn: the women and the oysters.

First off, there’d be no women – “or at least no proper women,” says Schnitzspahn. Second, there’d be way more oysters on the menu, and they’d be really local.

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RED BANK: NEW PHARMACY APPROVED

A drugstore and two adjoining stores would occupy space formerly used by a Chinese takeout restaurant and a portrait studio near the corner of Broad Street and Harding Road. (Click to enlarge)

By SARAH KLEPNER

Rcsm2_010508Less than a year after losing its last independent drug store, Red Bank is getting a new one, and it’s located just across the street from the vacant shell of its predecessor.

Pharmacist Kamlesh Patel won approval from the borough planning board Monday night for an independent pharmacy at 141-1431 Broad Street, nearly opposite the former home of the Professional Pharmacy, which closed up shop in December after 61 years in town.

STUDIO OUT, SUGARUSH IN, RETAILER BACK

Chris Paseka, above, and partner Jesse Bello-Paseka plan to double the size of Sugarush, taking over space vacated by the Kathryn Barnett School of Dance.  (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Rcsm2_010508Kathryn Barnett School of Dance has relocated out of town, cupcakery Sugarush is growing into Barnett’s vacated space, and Hip and Humble Home has landed back in a storefront after several months absence.

All part of the wonderful world of Red Bank’s Retail Churn.

• After 30 years in town, Kathryn Barnett has moved her East Front Street dance studio, where generations of girls have learned the art of movement, to Union Square Mall on Route 35 in Middletown, combining forces with Allegro Dance Studio.

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RED BANK: SAN REMO CLOSES IN ON MOVE

The transformation of the former Little Kraut restaurant has been underway for three years. Chef and ower Giovanni Boudour, below, in his new kitchen. (Photo by Robert Kern. Click to enlarge)

By ROBERT KERN

After nearly three years of planning and construction, Abdellah “Giovanni” Boudour says he looks forward to swapping a hard hat for his chef’s toque when San Remo restaurant finally opens next month in Red Bank.

Since buying the building at the corner of Oakland Street and Bridge Avenue in 2010, Boudour has split his time between overseeing the renovations and running the kitchen at the San Remo’s current location, on Newman Springs Road in Shrewsbury.

During that time he dealt with zoning processes and building permits to renovate the site from what was the Oakbridge Tavern – and, for decades before that, the Little Kraut – into his dream of a casual restaurant offering “fine dining at decent prices.”

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RED BANK: NEW RESTAURANT PLANNED

Plans filed with the borough call for the creation of a restaurant at the long-vacant former home of Fameabilia. A deal to sell the property is in the works. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Idle for more than four years, a prominent storefront in downtown Red Bank would be converted to a 162-seat restaurant under plans on file at borough hall.

Who would own and operate the nameless restaurant at 42 Monmouth Street – the former home of the Fameabilia sports memorabilia shop – is not disclosed. But the property is under contract and expected to change hands as early as next week, redbankgreen has learned.

The conversion plan filed by owners Bruce and Julie Baron is consistent with the prospective buyer’s plans for the site, we’re told.

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SEA BRIGHT PLAYGROUND TAKES SHAPE

The playground-to-be at Sea Bright’s municipal beach. (Photo by Wil Fulton. Click to enlarge)

By WIL FULTON

The Sandy Ground Project Memorial Playground in Sea Bright, built to honor and pay tribute to the victims of the horrific Newtown School shootings, has broken ground, but is still more than a month away from being completed, according to borough Recreation Director Kathy Morris.

The Foundation to Save the Jersey Shore and the New Jersey Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association are spearheading a project called “The Sandy Ground Project: Where Angels Play” that aims to create 26 memorial playgrounds across the state, dedicated to those who lost their lives in the December school slaughter. Sea Bright is the first town to receive a memorial playground, this one dedicated to Ann Marie Murphy, a special education teacher who lost her life in the shooting.

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FRENCH OUT. THAI, PERUVIAN & ICE CREAM IN.

Marc Fontaine outside the now-closed Bienvenue, which will become a Thai restaurant. Fontaine plans to open a pastry shop on Monmouth Street. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Rcsm2_010508Restaurant-crazy Red Bank’s ethnic pot is getting stirred again.

For Francophiles, the news is bad, as Bienvenue, the only French restaurant for miles around, has closed.

Those hankering for another Thai choice, though, will get their wish, as one moves into the space Bienvenue vacated last month, at the corner of East Front Street and Wharf Avenue.

Bienvenue’s chef, Marc Fontaine, meantime, plans to open a pastries and crepes café at 8 Monmouth Street.

Farther west on Monmouth, work has resumed on yet-to-open Peruvian restaurant after months of inactivity.

And, for dessert, a homemade ice cream shop plans to open before summer begins on White Street, in the space held by the short-lived Nina’s Waffles.

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NAPA-BASED WINERY PLANTS RED BANK SEED

Faustini Wines, a tasting experience and retail shop in one, is set to open on Broad Street in March. (Click to enlarge)

By DANIELLE TEPPER

Rcsm2_010508Red Bank-area oenophiles will have a new downtown destination to check out in coming months.

With Faustini Wines, Michelle Faustini and her husband, Anthony, hope to offer a service not found anywhere else in town: a place where diners on their way to a BYOB restaurant can taste wine before they buy it.

“We’re looking to create a true Napa Valley tasting experience,” said Faustini. “I think the town needs something like this to bring people together.”

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