A sign on the front door announces an “intention to re-open October 1,” but that’s not going to happen, says founder Tony Balderose. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The fate of a food market that lasted just three months at Fair Haven’s most prominent intersection remains “up in the air” while a battle for ownership control plays out, one of the principals tells redbankgreen.
Balderose Fine Foods, which opened in mid-May, has been closed since mid-August because of the dispute, said founder and chef Tony Balderose, of Shrewsbury.
Before carving out a career with the likes of Balducci’s and Gourmet Garage, BFF Market’s Tony Balderose, below, spent years in the telecom industry.(Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Now open in Fair Haven: Balderose Fine Foods, an upmarket deli taking the space formerly occupied by Gourmet Picnic bakery at Fair Haven Road and River Road.
Branded BFF Market, the shop is the creation of Tony Balderose, who expects his decade-plus experience in serving Manhattan’s finicky foodies have prepared him to compete with the likes of Brennan’s Deli in Rumson and Sickles Market in Little Silver.
Nature’s Emporoium is closing after 40 years in the same location, and will be replaced by a women’s clothing boutique displaced from Sea Bright. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
As though hit by an economic hurricane, Fair Haven’s historic downtown is reeling from the abrupt loss of four well-established River Road retailers.
Eclectic gift and clothing shop Nature’s Emporium is closing after 40 years. A women’s clothing boutique is expected to take over its space by early spring.
Gourmet Picnic closed on Monday after a sale, according to a notice posted on the 10-year-old bakery’s front door.
Eight-year-old Java Stop closed two weeks ago, and its cozy space will be taken over by two-year-old coffee roaster Booskerdoo, in its first expansion from Monmouth Beach.
Write Impressions, a custom stationery and wedding invitation shop, packed it in after 32 years this weekend and downsized to a corner of a florist shop in Middletown.
Owners of three of the outgoing businesses cited the effects of a seven-month closing of the Oceanic Bridge, ending last May, among the reasons for shutting out the lights.
“There’s just no traffic,” said Write Impressions owner Christine Ancona.
7:40 a.m.: The ladies of the Early Morning Walking and Talking Club toast a member absent because of knee surgery. Two of the women sport pink shirts printed with “R2K,” for “Rita’s two Knees” in support of their friend.
Monday through Friday at 5:30 a.m., year-round, longtime friends from Fair Haven, Rumson, Shrewsbury and Little Silver meet at the Church of the Nativity to begin their four-mile walk, which always ends at a picnic table in front of Gourmet Picnic in Fair Haven with a celebratory coffee over gossip.
Photographers from New York made a trip to Fair Haven Thursday afternoon for a photo shoot at Gourmet Picnic on River Road. A representative from the company said they came for a “lifestyle” shot that may be used to publicize a new medication from a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company. Store owner Suzette O’Brien was flattered her shop was chosen for the shoot. “It’s probably something you’d never see in Fair Haven,” she said. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
A sign on the front door announces an “intention to re-open October 1,” but that’s not going to happen, says founder Tony Balderose. (Click to enlarge)
