Syndicated Clothing moved into Red Bank on a temporary basis, but wants to make the borough a permanent home. (Click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
The idea isn’t particularly new in the world of retailing, especially around holidays: a store sets up in a vacant space for a few weeks or months, does some hasty business, and then makes a planned exit.
But in Red Bank, the pop-up store phenomenon now has a twist, with the addition of Syndicated Clothing to West Front Street. Rather than packing up and leaving after a stated period, the store’s owners are hoping a short-term lease will give them a toehold on a permanent place in town.
If landlords are amenable, short-term leases could not only fill some of the empty storefronts in town, but more importantly, could help jumpstart economic activity, says Nancy Adams, executive director of Red Bank RiverCenter, which promotes the downtown.
Problem is, not all landlords are into it.
Syndicated offers a variety of sneakers among hard-to-find streetwear. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
“Some are open to it, others don’t want the hassle,” Adams said. “There’s those that actively work their property and those who don’t, for whatever reason.”
Adams, who advocates renting out space for a few months as a way for merchants to try out Red Bank and see how it fits, doesn’t know of any other business or landlord giving short-term leases a chance.
“Mall developers do, but typically downtown owners don’t do that,” she said.
Which is unfortunate for prospective tenants because the move to Red Bank, if even on a six-month lease, was “perfect,” according to the owners of Syndicated.
They had been looking to move into town for about a year and encountered problem after problem in finding a permanent space, they said. Then the spot on West Front opened up, but for a limited time. Lessee Patricia Gilmartin, who owns the Old World Shaving Parlor next door, had planned on moving in there to open a new store, New World Cosmetics, but put the idea on hold.
So Syndicated jumped on it for the interim. The street, sport and casual apparel business signed a six-month sublet lease and opened its doors last week.
“This was the easiest spot. She had the whole buildout done. It was perfect,” said Ruperto Sinad, one of three owners. “We’re happy how it turned out with this space, but we’re still open to other spaces.”
While the owners continue to look for a permanent home in Red Bank, the West Front location is in now in the mix to be it. Sinad said Red Bank is where he and his partners, who have another store in Union, want to stay.
And getting a start here didn’t seem likely until the short-term rental was made available, Sinad said. To him, the idea makes sense, especially for smaller start-up businesses.
“For the beginning it is because we want to be here longer,” he said. “It’s just a good opportunity to come in, gauge business and go on from there.”
Adams said while the downtown would be better off with permanent tenants coming into Red Bank, a temporary storefront has a greater possibility to stick around.
“It’s like an incubator, where they’re going to see whether or not they can do it,” she said. “It’s a unique way, if you can manage it, to work out the kinks and see how you do.”
