Now open at 19 East Front Street: Currant, a “coffee bar and general store.” (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Coffee and corduroy shirts, with a side of hair conditioner? As of this week, Red Bank has a new shop with an unusual business model.
Read all about it, plus some additional comings and goings, in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.
Movers navigate equipment through the door of Renaissance Pilates’ new home on West Front Street Thursday. Below, Currant owner Dani Glazman. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
• Now open at 19 East Front Street: Currant, a “coffee bar and general store” owned by Dani Glazman.
The Chicago native and Rumson resident (via Vermont and Brooklyn) has transformed the 900-square-foot storefront previously used by Creative Kitchens into a spacious boutique with a coffee counter tucked in at the far end. The coffee is supplied by Devocion, a “farm to cup” grower in Colombia, she says.
Glazman, a former middle school teacher, said that when saw the space, “I thought, ‘this would be a great place to bring in an espresso bar.'” But following an eclectic approach she saw while living in Brooklyn, she also wanted to offer carefully curated goods that reflect her passion for environmental sustainability, and all the products in the store do that, she said.
On the shelves and racks are clothing (including corduroy shirts, priced at $130 each), housewares and personal-care items. A bulk dispensary counter tucked into a corner enables customers to top off their supplies of body soap, shampoo and conditioner with their own containers, saving waste.
But, the odd admixture – will that work as a business proposition? Will someone who runs in for a cup of joe also leave with a new shirt?
“It’s already happening,” Glazman said Thursday.
Currant is from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays; 8 to 7 on Saturdays and 8 to 5 on Sundays.
• Danielle Buccellato’s Renaissance Pilates studio has relocated from its home of five years, at 9 East Front Street, to 23-25 West Front Street, just a couple of hundred feet away.
Renaissance’s new home will be open for business Monday, Buccellato said, as workers carted equipment from one address to the next Thursday afternoon.
The studio takes over 3,300 square feet vacated by the Wedding Establishment. Owner Mike Hernandez tells Churn he’s moved the wedding planner operation entirely online.
Buccellato, who founded her pilates and yoga business in Hoboken 15 years ago, is particularly busy these days. With her sister, Joelle Buccellato, she’s also opening a Renaissance Pilates at BellWorks in Holmdel.
• Speaking of 9 East Front, KarenJoseph Salon is close to opening in the space next door to the one vacated by Renaissance.
The salon takes over space vacated by Kramer Portrait Studio, which recently bought and moved into the former Queen Vacuum Cleaner space on Monmouth Street.
Old-timers may recall that East Front Street building was once home to Kislin’s sporting goods store.
• The sign is up above the door at 6 Monmouth Street, but foodies will have to wait a couple more weeks to check out Toss’d, the latest entry in Nick Napoletano and Erica Lieberman’s mini empire of eateries.
Napoletano tells Churn they hope to open the restaurant, which will feature make-your-own salads, smoothies and cannabidiol (CBD)-infused items, by the end of November.
The couple own Ce La Vi and  Mr. Pizza Slice just doors apart on Monmouth Street, and Toss’d would replace their original shop, Whipped Creperie.
• After a roof leak at its current home at 9 Monmouth Street, women’s accessory shop Midtown Authentic is moving around the corner to 93 Broad Street, landlord’s representative Debbie Eisenstein tells Churn.
The Broad Street space was formerly home to Jonathan Salon, which moved earlier this year to 68 White Street. It’s currently hosting a pop-up shop Gilli’s Closet.
The leak also forced the temporary relocation of Barbizon Modeling to space next door on Monmouth.
• Eisenstein says she’s also found a tenant for the space formerly leased to Lux Beauty Store, which vacated 88 Broad Street 18 months ago. Churn will have more details as the tenant gets closer to move-in.
