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.


Our community pillars help us carry out our 100-Year Vision

Check it out

Non-profit Organization

Red Bank River Center

The Red Bank River Center promotes local merchants, recruits new businesses, stages vibrant downtown events, and beautifies our streetscapes.

Learn More
organization-banner
organization-banner
10k

RED BANK: MEXICAN, GREEK EATERIES DEBUT

red-bank-mi-lupitas-010622-2-500x332-9277978Mi Lupita’s Kitchen has opened at 78 Bridge Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

rcsm2_0105081-220x165-9667185Red Bank’s busy restaurant scene has two new entrants bringing traditions both cultural and familial to the table.

Read all about them, as well as a new smoke shop, in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.

red-bank-dynasty-010622-2-500x332-5374583Dynasty Smokes has opened at Monmouth and West Streets. Below, Christian Marroquin-Garcia with a sign for his newly minted restaurant.  (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

red-bank-christian-marroquin-garcia-mi-lupitas-010622-220x146-3025757• After a decade as a delivery guy for other Mexican restaurants in town, 32-year-old borough resident Christian Marroquin-Garcia has opened his own: Mi Lupita’s Kitchen, on Bridge Avenue facing the train station.

The menu touts “authentic Mexican street food,” including standard categories: tacos, enchiladas, burritos and more. But its foundation is something Garcia brought with him from his native Guatemala 12 years ago: corn tortillas made by a process known as “nixtamalization.”

It involves hours of boiling corn kernels in water and food-grade lime, soaking and drying, and then milling them by volcanic-ash stone into a dough, all of which Garcia and his crew do on-site. The effort yields tortillas that are both more nutritious and more flavorful than you might get elsewhere, he told redbankgreen.

“I used to hate the tortillas you get here,” he said. “They were just so nasty. But we had to adapt.”

Mi Lupita’s Kitchen is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The space was the home of Mary and Roy Jennings’ Chowda House for six years until it closed in late 2019. The couple still own the building.

Olympus Greek American Grill is set to open Tuesday at 21 Monmouth Street.

The business is owned and operated by a father-and-son, Paul and Alexander Papis, who have Greek cooking in their DNA. Alexander tells Churn his late grandfather, George Papis, was well-known in the 1970s as the owner of GoGo’s Souvlaki King on Staten Island.

“We are using all of the same family recipes,” including George’s special tzatziki sauce, Alexander said.

The menu includes Greek and American dishes, including spanakopita bites, moussaka, gyro-meat wraps, burgers and more.

The space was last occupied by Rice Box.

Dynasty Smokes has opened at 160 Monmouth Street, at the intersection of West Street.

The shop offers cannabis-derived CBD products, e-cigs, vapes, water pipes and other smoking accessories.

First-time business owner Tony Zhou, an East Brunswick resident, tells Churn he wants to use Dynasty to “educate” the public on the various ways to partake of CBD and now-legal cannabis as those markets grow.

The space was most recently leased to a real estate brokerage.

Tiffany’s Brow, Lash & Spa, a salon offering beauty services, has opened at 62 Broad Street, a space last occupied by a nail salon.

If you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen, please become a financial supporter for as little as $1 per month. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank business owner happier than to hear "I saw your ad on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
Happening Now: Red Bank Primary School Winter Festival with Santa, the Grinch, Elf, and More
 The Red Bank Primary School Winter Festival is here! Stop by and take a picture with your favorite characters, including Santa! #RBBisBIA ...
RED BANK: PARK FOR FREE & COUNT ELVES
Free holiday parking begins Monday and continues through Christmas Day in downtown Red Bank. Park in any public pay lot or metered spot at n ...
RFH CAROLERS BRING HOLIDAY SPIRIT
The Rumson-Fair Haven High School Tower Singers sing Jingle Bells and other favorites in front of the former Chase bank on Broad Street in R ...
RED BANK: YES, IT’S STILL COMING
Four years after winning borough approval, Jack Manousos still plans to open a restaurant at 3-5 Broad Street. When? Not ready to disclose, ...
RED BANK: AMID THE BLUE
A rack of small vessels at the Navesink Riverside Residences and Marina added colors to the river’s deep blue, as seen from the Red Ba ...
[GIF] COUNTDOWN TO TREE LIGHTING
The final countown and lighting of Broad Street toward the end of the Holiday Express Concert. GIF below and video right after.
PANORAMA: HOLIDAY EXPRESS CONCERT
Tim McLoone and his Holiday Express band light up the crowd on Broad Street before the annual tree lighting.
THANKSGIVING EVE: WHAT WAS GOING ON
Nothing marks the arrival of Thanksgiving weekend like reacquainting with someone from high school that you hoped to never see again in your ...
RED BANK: YES, RED BANK
Kayaker Carla Fiscella shared this lovely autumn vignette along the Swimming River at Chapin Avenue from last week.
RED BANK BUCKS GIVEAWAY
Red Bank RiverCenter will host a $5,000 Red Bank Bucks Giveaway at Toast City Diner this Saturday. It’s essentially free money, and who do ...
RED BANK: TREE TIME!
This year’s Christmas tree arrived at Riverside Gardens Park in Red Bank Saturday. It will be lit (along with the rest of the downtown) as ...
RED BANK LIBRARY HOLIDAY HOURS
RED BANK CLASSIC 5K RUNNING A DEAL
Red Bank 5K Classic sets 2024 date, with discount registrations starting Friday.
PBA TOY DRIVE BRINGS JOY TO LOCAL KIDS
Help make a kid’s Christmas a bit nicer with a toy donation to the annual Red Bank PBA toy drive.
FUNDRAISERS SUPPORT GLOBAL REFUGEE RELIEF
Fundraisers with the United Nations Refugee agency on Broad Street collecting donations for refugees worldwide, and killing time between cha ...
“PUT IT IN THE WINDOW!”
The King of Rock and Roll was seen hanging in the window of Jack’s Music Shoppe. When asked if there was any reason behind it apart fr ...
RED BANK: WATCH YOUR STEP
The painted sidewalk at 205 Broad Street (featured in a recent Where Have I Seen This) getting a new look today.
HOLIDAY DECORATIONS GOING UP
Jim Bruno of Powerhouse Signworks takes a minute for a photo and a thumbs up while hanging the wreaths and lights in advance of the annual t ...