Evan Piscitelli is now owner of two downtown shops: a jeweler and a men’s shop. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
In this nutmeg-tinged edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn, we’ve got news of a men’s clothing shop opened by a man who’s been selling diamonds and jewelry in downtown Red Bank for seven years.
We’ve also got updates on four restaurants – three opening, and one closed.
A Mexican restaurant called El Gavilan plans to open at 51 Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
• Evan Piscitelli has opened Georgetown Fine Clothiers, offering “quality, affordable men’s clothing” at 62 Broad Street.
Familiar to downtown shoppers as the owner of Evan John Diamantaire two blocks north, at 15 Broad, Piscitelli said he’s long wanted to create a men’s shop as well. In fact, he launched Georgetown a year ago, at Bellworks, in Holmdel.
But “my goal has always been to bring it to Broad Street,” he said.
“I love Broad Street,” Piscitelli said. “I grew up in West Long Branch, and this is where we went to shop.” With the seasonal Broadwalk pedestrian plaza and new businesses opening, he said the strip is again on an “upswing.”
In preparing the business, Piscitelli said he discovered Hackett London, a British maker of fine-fabric, off-the-rack suits, blazers, shirts and more, and “loved everything they had.” When he found out that plans for a Hackett shop in New York City were canceled due to the pandemic, he was able to buy all the inventory that was to go into the store, without having to enter into a dealership agreement.
“It’s just really, really nice stuff that we’re able to sell at a discount of what it goes for in London,” he said.
For example, a nice sports jacket can be had for $600, and dress shirts and pants for about $100 each, he said. The aim is to “let gentlemen really dress up and look good at an affordable price,” something he believes there’s a strong appetite for post-COVID, Piscitelli said.
For the past five years, Piscitelli’s jewelry shop has shared space with custom clothing maker Vincent Sciortino. “But not every customer is at that level yet,” he said, and Georgetown “gives you that entry to level to start dressing nicely,” as opposed to clothing made overseas “in places that don’t really have craftsmanship” and sold online.
A long-range goal, Piscitelli said, is to create his own Georgetown private label.
A graduate of Georgetown University with a degree in government, Piscitelli said he named the shop both for his alma mater and its charming Washington, DC shopping area. Georgetown (Instagram: Instagram @georgetowngent) will open Saturday with a celebration from 3 to 5 p.m.
The space was last occupied by Tiffany’s Brow, Lash & Spa.
• Mexican restaurant El Gavilan (the hawk) Tio Juan is nearing completion of its remodeling of 51 Broad Street, where it will replace Shapiro’s New York Style Delicatessen.
Cesar Mendez, a former Shapiro’s employee who bought the eatery in 2019, said he will continue working there under new owners, who hope to open this month.
• Also nearing completion: Sally Boy’s. The self-described “pizza and specialties marketplace” under construction at 1 Broad Street is shooting for an opening by December 1, an employee tells Churn.
The shoehorn-shaped building, at the corner of East Front Street, has been vacant for an astonishing eight years. It was last occupied Heritage Liquors, which closed in 2014.
• At the Rail, the new multiuse building at the Red Bank train station, Filoncino Café plans to open a store, representatives of developer Denholtz Properties told the planning board earlier this week.
Based in Staten Island, Filoncino offers Italian dishes, sandwiches, burgers, desserts and more, according to its menu.
The shop is expected to open in the second or third quarter of 2023, broker Gary Krauss of Pierson Commercial Real Estate told redbankgreen. It will occupy about 2,500 square feet at the corner of Oakland Street and Bridge Avenue, joining the already opened Melonhead juice bar as the only retail businesses in the project.
Denholtz representatives went before the board Monday night for a technical adjustment to its parking calculation. They told the board that all but two of the 57 rental units of the recently completed Rail have been leased.
• Soul Sandwich, located in the quaint row of shops along the east side of the Dublin House Pub on Monmouth Street, has closed.
Steve DeAngelo opened the the 175-square-foot takeout in 2019, taking over from Gary Sable, who operated That Hot Dog Place there for 25 years.
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