Sue Viscomi, right, with Hazim Yassin and Kate Triggiano at borough hall in April, 2018. All three ran for council that year. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank board of ed member faced sharp criticism Thursday for a purported racist rendition of the borough business administrator’s name the night before.
But Sue Viscomi vehemently denied referring to Ziad Shehady as “Mr. Jihad.”
Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, center of bottom row, prevailed on a resolution regarding the Redevelopment Agency. (Zoom screengrab. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Sarcasm and insults flew Wednesday night as the Red Bank council yet again clashed over the future of the mothballed Senior Center.
This time, residents provided much of the ire. Read More
Visitors dining on (and in) Broad Street in June. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
An effort to spark downtown business activity as the pandemic nears its second year is among the items on the Red Bank council’s agenda for Wednesday night.
The garage, built in 1983, became the subject of a lease-purchase deal between the town and Riverview 17 years later. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
It’s a mere formality, but Riverview Medical Center is slated to become the owner of Red Bank’s only publicly-owned parking garage Friday.
At its regular meeting Wednesday night, the borough council authorized officials to sign off on a property transfer worked out when the current council president was in middle school.
The deal adds to the nonprofit hospital’s growing portfolio of real estate.
Red Bank’s Molly Pitcher Inn is going on winter hiatus until March, the hotel’s owners announced Wednesday.
The new shop as it appeared before dawn Wednesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After nearly two and a half years of town-splitting arguments, Fair Haven now has a Dunkin’ coffee shop.
Considering the wringer he went through to get to this point, owner Domenic Sequeira was in a pretty affable mood Wednesday morning.
The former Anderson Storage building in Red Bank was named one of three recipients of a 2020 Monmouth County Planning Board Merit Award Monday.
After a five-month closure, the northern blocks of Broad Street in downtown Red Bank were reopened to vehicular traffic this week.
Governor Phil Murphy, right, and First Lady Tammy Murphy with Mayor Pasquale Menna at the Red Bank Classic in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna said he apologized to Governor Phil Murphy Tuesday for an incident in which Murphy and his family were harassed by louts as they ate dinner downtown Sunday.
Governor Phil Murphy, First Lady Tammy Murphy and their son Josh eating dinner at Char in June. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Governor Phil Murphy took an understanding tone Monday, less than 24 hours after he and his family were harangued by foulmouthed passersby while eating dinner in Red Bank.
Asking critics to “leave my family out of this,” Murphy also used the verbal assault as an indication that New Jerseyans need to seek common ground during “an incredibly stressful time.”
Mos Neammanee owns Rice Box with his brother, Khomsun. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
One step back and two steps forward for Red Bank’s central business district?
A Thai restaurant and a clothing boutique open next door to one another downtown, while a Broad Street business quietly calls it quits. Read all about them in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.
Empty tables and idle heaters on Broadwalk on a chilly Sunday evening in October. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s in-street shopping and dining plaza known as ‘Broadwalk’ will go on winter hiatus at the end of November.
Borough council members informally agreed Wednesday night that the prospect of dealing with a snowstorm before winter is over makes keeping the plaza going impractical.
Another pizza restaurant plans to take the vacant former home of Pacini’s at 177 Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Commercial real estate activity may be down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Red Bank continuues to attract small shops that want in on whatever action is happening.x
In this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn, we’ve got word on a new pizzeria and a juice bar signing leases, and the sale of a giant building in the heart of downtown.
Michele Ellis in her new restaurant on Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
With restaurants struggling through historically poor conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it might seem absolutely nuts to start a new one.
But the owner of a bread-based eatery that plans to open in Red Bank this week says key lessons of the past eight months are, well, baked into her plan.
The former home of Atlantic Glass on Maple Avenue is getting a tenant after a long vacancy. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A high-visibility Red Bank building gets a makeover for use as a gym; movie screenings return to White Street; and an insurance agency takes over a storefront.
Read all about them in this early autumn edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.
For the second year in a row, Red Bank police hosted their annual National Night Out Against Crime community barbecue at Count Basie Fields Tuesday night.
This years’s edition was held two months later than usual, however. It also featured temperature checks of attendees at the entry gate, as well as lots of facial coverings – all, of course, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But dozens of families enjoyed games and free food, courtesy of the police department and other organizations. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Claudette Herring and Lauren Phillips at Via45 Monday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
It was a day of mixed emotions for the owners of two Red Bank businesses as they closed up shop Monday.
At Via45, restaurateurs Lauren Phillips and Claudette Herring ended an 11-year run on Broad Street. Around the corner on Monmouth Street, Marissa Clifford oversaw the final children’s birthday party at Paint A Tee.
This 400th installment of Retail Churn has the details on those latest economic victims of the pandemic and other changes in the downtown mix.
The conjoined buildings at center, above, have changed hands, along with the liquor license. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
See UPDATE below
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s Downtown restaurant and night club, a major nightlife draw, has new owners.
The West Front Street business has been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A view down Broad Street last Friday afternoon. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s ‘Broadwalk’ experiment with in-street dining on Broad Street is going 24/7 for at least the next two months.
The change, from a four-day-a-week schedule, goes into effect Thursday, following a surprise proposal at Wednesday night’s council meeting.
The Weeklings, who’ve performed at past food festivals in town, will get a starring slot at a concert in Riverside Gardens Park. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The sun has set on the possibility that downtown Red Bank will host one or maybe even two food festivals this autumn.
Instead, business promotion agency RiverCenter has put six outdoor concerts on the district’s dance card – but you’ll have to pay to attend.
The Vingo store at Newman Springs Road and South Bridge Avenue. (Google Maps photo. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Vingo liquor store in Red Bank is among 20 alcohol retailers that have agreed to pay New Jersey $2.3 million to settle charges of unfair trade practices, the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control said in an announcement Tuesday.
The consent agreement grew out of a “sweeping, two-year probe” that also resulted in $8 million payments by the state’s two largest booze wholesalers, the ABC said.
Daniel Ardelan puts the finishing touches on the window sign at GoodVibe Nutrition Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Lying in bed in her New York City apartment on July 16, Irina Popa-Erwin had an insight: she had to open a store selling healthy beverages.
On Wednesday, five weeks later, she and two partners will open their business in Red Bank, a town they had never visited before they went on a mad search for a place to set up shop.
The former Anderson Storage building, above. Below, Chris Cole in the space being readied for Glen Goldbaum’s Lambs & Wolves salon.(Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
With the opening last week week of Sickles Market and Booskerdoo, Red Bank’s Anderson Storage building has all but completed a transformation in the works for almost two decades.
But for developer Chris Cole, who oversaw the project, it’s just another day at the office.
Without discussion, the Red Bank council authorized a restaurant’s closing of a public street for seating of diners Wednesday night.
