Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

ON CONSIGNMENT: OWNER GOES FOR SECONDS

eliaAnn Marie Elia arranges the stock at her Fair Haven store. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

When Ann Marie Elia opened her first business, All Things Consignment, in West Long Branch two decades ago, it was a tough start for the self-described “clothes and jewelry junkie.”

“Twenty years ago, people looked down on you for shopping at a consignment shop,” Elia said. “Now, it’s so hip.”

So hip, in fact, that Elia is in the middle of an apparent consignment boom along the Navesink. Elia opened her second All Things Consignment location on River Road, next door to Shutters Cottage Home, in October, and hers is one of two that recently opened in Fair Haven — just a microcosm of a regional trend she’s seen, she said.

“I’ve never seen so many pop up in one year,” Elia, 45, said. “It’s the times.”

The times, however, had nothing to do with Elia’s expansion into Fair Haven, she says. Rather, she was looking to open up a higher-end store, just needed to find the right place, and Fair Haven fits for her upscale women’s consignment shop.

“It had nothing to do with the economy. There’s never a good time or a bad time,” she said. “I felt I needed to do it.”

But the economy is proving to be a boost for her. Elia said she gets a steady flow of customers dropping clothes off or rifling through racks for deals. People, she said, simply don’t want to pay retail prices anymore.

Elia is giving people plenty of reason not to. Her shop is a fashion treasure trove of deals, carrying many of the chic brand names: Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and the like. She carries jewelry, too, but that’s all new, she said.

Elia does things a little differently from most second-hand stores. She offers what she calls a concierge service, so if somebody is too busy to make a drop-off, her staff will take care of getting the merch.

“We’ll go to their home and actually clean out their closets,” Elia said.

She also lets customers draw up wish lists. If there’s an item a client has an eye on, Elia will call as soon as it comes in. And there’s always stuff coming in and going out of the store, she said. Items that don’t sell are donated to the Monmouth County SPCA and a local battered-women’s shelter.

With two decades of business under her belt, Elia has proven she has staying power in the consignment industry. Will she stay afloat amid a surge of second-handers opening up?

Elia says yes. About eight years ago she opened a men’s consignment store, called Suits You, in Little Silver. It was open for three years — “three years too long,” she said — before Elia called it quits, because “men really don’t shop.” So Elia says she’s learned the lessons to stay viable in the industry.

“It’s true — consignment shops open up and close within a year or two because they’re not run properly,” she said. “If something fails you always take away something to learn. I’m not afraid of failing.”

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
RED TRUCKS AT RED ROCK
A small dishwasher fire at Red Rock Tap and Grill was put out quickly by firefighters overnight, causing minimal damage. Red Bank Fire Depar ...
CREATIVE COVER UP
The windows of Pearl Street Consignment on Monmouth Street were smashed when a driver crashed their car through them injuring an employee la ...
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...