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.
The former home of the Belmonte and, before that, Red, has been vacant for more than two years. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A long-vacant restaurant space in Red Bank won approval for rooftop dining Monday night, despite objections by the board’s chairman.
The new owners of 3-5 Broad Street also own the Proving Ground in Highlands. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The new owners of the former home of the Belmonte restaurant and nightclub in downtown Red Bank hope to add rooftop dining when they reopen the long-vacant space.
The short-lived home of a Subway shop at 60 Broad is slated to open as Luigi’s Ice Cream. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
[See correction below]
By JOHN T. WARD
A restaurant departs as an ice cream shop and a clothing store prepare to open in downtown Red Bank, redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has learned.
Details below.
An unusual adaptation of taquitos, above, and a glass of made-to-order sangria, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
Gone are the heavy velvet drapes and dark, brooding atmosphere that once decorated Red in Red Bank. Renovated and re-dubbed the Belmonte, the Broad Street restaurant and bar with the panoramic front window is now lighter, brighter and much more inviting.
A cool, marble-topped bar elicits a bit of Old World charm. Banquettes lining the walls promise comfort, while high-top tables arranged down the center aisle of the room offer a variety of seating or standing options: playing off the primarily tapas menu, it’s a mixture of this and that.
Trap Door Escape Room opens this week in the former home of Dunlap Locksmith, which left behind a front door with a giant keyhole cut into it. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
In this edition of Retail Churn: updates on a new immersive-experience entertainment facility and a rebranded restaurant, both of which have openings in downtown Red Bank planned for this week.
Also in Churn: a music store for sale; updates on two pharmacies, and a furniture store coming to Shrewsbury.
Kathleen Conlon bought the onetime gas station that’s now Welcome Home, her housewares shop on East Front Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
This installment of redbankgreen’s Retail Churn pops in on a new housewares-and-gifts shop in Red Bank.
We’ve also got an update on an escape-themed entertainment “house” planned downtown; the rebranding of Red restaurant; and a planned move by Red Ginger Home.
At 18 Broad Street, now concealed by scaffolding, the Art Deco foyer seen below will be replaced by one more reminiscent of the building’s 19th-century origins, the architect said. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Accelerating downtown Red Bank’s flight from retail to food, the zoning board approved the conversion of a longtime shoe store to a restaurant Thursday night.
Dominating the two-hour hearing were two issues: whether the new owner of 18 Broad Street should be permitted to have three apartments upstairs, rather than the two allowed under the zoning ordinance, and whether the Art Deco foyer should be saved or replaced.
Barely mentioned: the impact of the 76-seat restaurant on parking.
The foyer of the former If the Shoe Fits store is the last remaining example of Art Deco design downtown, say preservationists. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
[UPDATE: The zoning board meeting on the 18 Broad Street proposal was cancelled. The application was rescheduled for June 18.]
A proposal to turn a former downtown Red Bank shoe store into a restaurant and replace its distinctive curved-glass entryway is slated for review at Thursday night’s zoning board meeting.
Preservationists have raised concerns about the plan for 18 Broad Street, which is located in the historic district, because, they say, it would eliminate the last remaining example of Art Deco design in the commercial district.
The building at 14 West Front Street, center above, has changed hands. The white one next door is the site of a proposed roof deck for the Downtown, at far right. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
This edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn takes note of news at three key downtown properties.
Two are in the heart of a strip of businesses undergoing rapid change on West Front Street.
The other, on Broad Street, is marking the completion of an overhaul that’s been underway for more than three years.
The first-floor restaurant at red, now closed for remodeling, will reopen under a new name in coming months. The upstairs nightclub remains open on Friday and Saturday nights. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Calling his Red Bank restaurant “red” 12 years ago turned out not to be the smartest choice in the era of the search engine, Dan Lynch admits with a laugh.
But that’s not why he shut down the Broad Street restaurant for a first-floor makeover and rebranding last Saturday, he tells redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.
The owners of the Downtown, at right above, hope to expand into the vacant retail space at left for more seating, including a rooftop dining area. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The already head-spinning rate at which downtown Red Bank is abandoning retail in favor of restaurants may soon accelerate.
Borough officials are weighing two new change-of-use proposals for eateries in the district.