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RED BANK: CLOTHES, CANDLES &… CANNABIS?

Veronica Mogilevich in her new boutique, Another Sunday, on Monmouth Street. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallA clothing boutique debuts; a gift shop and a restaurant plan openings; a would-be cannabis retailer stakes a claim; and a major retail building changes hands.

Read all about the latest business activity in downtown Red Bank in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.

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RED BANK: GARMANY LOSES COVID-19 LAWSUIT

Garmany sued its insurer over pandemic-related losses. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njUpscale Red Bank clothing retailer Garmany lost a federal lawsuit Thursday in which it sought insurance reimbursements for pandemic-related losses.

Those losses, it argued, were caused by Governor Phil Murphy’s shutdown of the state’s economy a year ago, and not the COVID-19 virus itself.

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RED BANK: GREEK FOOD, FLOWERS, ART & HAIR

mayflowers red bank njMayflowers of Red Bank took over half the Wharf Avenue space long used by Chetkin Framing, which remains next door. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallA new Greek restaurant opens in Red Bank Friday, joining a flower shop that made its debut last week.

This edition of redbankgreen‘s ever-trawling Retail Churn pops in on each for the story, while serving up a bouquet of news about more planned business openings. Read on for details.

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RED BANK: THREE WEEKEND DEBUTS PLANNED

The paper comes off the windows Saturday at Cos Bar, a cosmetics store opening next door to Tiffany & Co. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallTwo new Red Bank businesses kick off their residencies, and the summer of 2017, with openings planned for the Memorial Day weekend, redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has learned.

In addition, a longtime veteran of the town’s restaurant and bar scene is unveiling a new outdoor expansion.

 

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RED BANK: ART BENEFIT HONORS GARMANY

Press release from Belfer Communications

In honor of the late retail fashion legend and community leader Larry Garmany, the store that bears his name teams with one of downtown Red Bank’s most exciting new neighbors— Detour Gallery — for “Fashion Is Art,” a black tie event that celebrates life, fashion and raising awareness for the American Cancer Society.

Hosted on Saturday, May 13 at the gallery on 24 Clay Street on Saturday, the 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. affair will treat guests to a catered cocktail gathering with music, exciting interactive art, and fashion installations in partnership with the gallery’s curated artists. Each featured work of art will be brought to life by models wearing inspired fashions, hair and makeup depicting the mixed media creations.

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RED BANK: BOWLING FOR FOOD DOLLARS

The scene at the newly opened Playa Bowls last Friday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn small

This edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has news on three downtown eateries: one that’s doing gangbuster business, one that got a recent makeover, and one that’s calling it quits.

Details follow…

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RED BANK: FOOTWEAR, FRUIT BOWLS, FACIALS

The Doc Shoppe, which moved to Red Bank from Fair Haven in 2014, plans to close at the end of March. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallRed Bank’s last-remaining shoe store is closing.

This edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn includes news on the departure of the Doc Shoppe; the opening of an exotic-fruit bar and café; and plans by a high-end beauty products retailer to open downtown. More →

ON THE GREEN: BOOMER, BEACH, BOOKS, BUCS

End of Summer PartyThe annual End of Summer Party (above) marks a big-tent bid of adieu for the Sandy Hook Foundation next Friday…while NFL great Boomer Esiason (below) visits Broad Street for a cocktail party fundraiser at Garmany.

Boomer EsiasonA late-summer sendoff out on the Hook…a BBQ kickoff to the gridiron season on the home-team turf…a star-studded celebration of life and fashion at a signature retailer…and a show of support for a hometown resource. All dedicated to raising funds for worthy causes, and all happening in the post-Labor Day interlude to come.

This coming Labor Day Monday, September 5 represents the deadline to reserve your ringside seat for the End of Summer — as declared by the nonprofit Sandy Hook Foundation in its annual casual-attire outdoor benefit gala, which returns on September 9 to the North Beach area of the Hook for a seasonal sayonara that commences at 6:30 pm. With tickets beginning at $150, proceeds benefit the Foundation’s ongoing preservation efforts as well as seasonal activities like the popular Free Beach Concert series, in addition to the environmental awareness and educational campaigns of the Fort Hancock-based American Littoral Society. Promised are “dancing under the stars” to live music from Swift Technique; a buffet dinner featuring seafood raw bar furnished by The Lusty Lobster, and an “amazing auction” of exclusive-experience getaway packages. Take it here for further details; here for tickets, and around the bend for more good deeds and good times.

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RED BANK: GARMANY GIVES BACK WITH A BOOM

Boomer EsiasonPress release from Belfer Communications

On Friday, September 9, NFL star Boomer Esiason comes to Garmany for an exciting game-changing inaugural fundraising event, “Garmany…Boom!”

Scheduled for Friday, September 9, the event celebrates life, fashion and raising awareness for Cystic Fibrosis through the Boomer Esiason Foundation, the nonprofit project established by the famed quarterback and broadcaster (pictured here outfitted by Garmany for his Showtime series Inside the NFL).

A four-time Pro Bowl player and 1988 NFL MVP, the former Jets QB will be joined at Garmany by two more players-turned-TV commentators, both with formidable stats in New York/ New Jersey pro ball: longtime Giants quarterback Phil Simms, and veteran Jets linebacker Bart Scott.

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RED BANK: GARY COOPER AT GARMANY? YUP.

Gary Cooper carLate Hollywood legend Gary Cooper possessed a certain ‘Enduring Style,’ the title of a new book co-authored by his daughter, who visits Red Bank on Saturday.

Enduring StyleComedians of the era suggested that his entire vocabulary consisted of the words “yup” and “nope.” There was always something of the Montana-born cowboy in his characters, whether he was playing a professor (Ball of Fire), Lewis Carroll’s White Knight (Alice in Wonderland), or Lou Gehrig in Pride of the Yankees. 

But Gary Cooper could also rock a premiere-party tux, a day-at-the-races houndstooth blazer, or an anyone-for-tennis ensemble of casual cool. The golden-age Hollywood legend’s sense of Enduring Style is the subject of a book co-authored by his daughter, Maria Cooper Janis, and the centerpiece of an event dubbed”Oscar Saturday” at Garmany of Red Bank.

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RED BANK: GARMANY STAFF TAKES IT ALL OFF

Garmany shave-offIt’s an initiative that began at the top of the previous month, when the entire male staff of the Broad Street landmark Garmany of Red Bank made a solemn pledge to spurn the razor — and this Saturday, December 5, “No Shave November” officially comes to a close, when the high-end clothier hosts a Shave-Off Saturday Holiday Event in honor of its late founder, Laureano “Larry” Garmany.

The 2015 holiday season marks the first since the July passing of the Cuban immigrant whose name adorns the 40,000 square foot former Steinbach department store — and who famously brought high-end retail (and lured no less a name than Tiffany & Co.) to a small town not so long ago derided as “Dead Bank.” Between the hours of noon and 6 pm, the men of Garmany take it all off (with the help of a “gentleman’s pop-up shaving salon” established for the occasion by The Art of Shaving), in a promotion supporting the work of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

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RED BANK: HORSES, HARMONIES AND MORE

112914 horseride3Why go buggy navigating the malls, when you can enjoy Red Bank from an old-fashioned horse and carriage?

As surely as Black Friday nips at the heels of Thanksgiving Thursday, so too does Small Business Saturday get an electrified head start with the first flash of Friday night’s Town Lighting extravaganza in downtown Red Bank.

And when the shop-local showcase promotion returns Saturday, it will herald a day of special holiday-themed features that continue every weekend through December 20 — a slate of Santa sightings, scavenger hunts, horsey rides, harmonizing performers, mobile mannequins and more; all designed to enhance the hustle and bustle of the shopping experience here in the business blocks of the area’s undisputed Capital of Christmastime.

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RED BANK: ALLEGED BELT THIEF CUFFED

An Asbury Park man was arrested Tuesday after he bolted from the upscale Garmany clothing store with nine leather belts worth $2,725, Red Bank police said Wednesday.

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‘EYESORE’ HAS MAKEOVER APPOINTMENT

The long-vacant former home of Surray Luggage is set for a spruce-up and a new tenant, Salon Conrete. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

It’s months away, but an enduring store vacancy in downtown Red Bank is set to end, redbankgreen has learned.

Hair stylist Salon Concrete has signed to take over half the space at the 5,600-square foot 123-127 Broad Street, salon owner Christine Zilinski confirms.

Meanwhile, there’s also some churn underway at Salon Concrete’s current home, 15 Broad, from which upscale children’s clothier Lavish Kids recently pulled out.

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PARTY ON TWO

mha-garmany-21mha-garmany-1027111A restaurant sampling / art raffle for the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County had guests mingling among the the Manolo Blahnicks and Roberto Cavallis at the upscale Garmany clothier in Red Bank Thursday night. The event brought together a half-dozen restaurants and art galleries from town. (Click to enlarge)

FURNITURE STORE BIDS A HASTY ADIEU

pierre-deux-070611Despite the failure of Pierre Deux, neighbors Tiffany & Co. and Garmany are doing well, says landlord Larry Garmany. (Click to enlarge)

Rcsm2_010508French provincial furniture retailer Pierre Deux has closed its Red Bank store as part of a shutdown prompted by a bankruptcy filing for the 23-store chain.

The 2,400-square-foot Broad Street store, which opened next door to Tiffany & Co. three years ago, appears fully stocked. But a bright green notice taped to the door alerts visitors that the store is under the control of a court-appointed trustee.

The notice apparently went up Wednesday, though the closing occurred more than a week ago, said building landord Larry Garmany.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “But the good thing is that they didn’t leave because of Red Bank. They left because they were doing lousy” across America.

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THE EXPRESS TRACK TO HOLIDAY TIME

img_5665112709As usual, several thousand people are expected to pack Red Bank’s Broad Street for a Holiday Express concert and overall merriment Friday night. These pix are from 2009. (Click to enlarge)

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Even hardcore humbugs and web-shopping wetblankets can agree that there’s no better time for a bit of light therapy than Black Friday.

This Friday evening, for the 17th consecutive year, Holiday Express — the all-volunteer force of musical goodwill — pulls into station stop Red Bank to perform a free outdoor concert that sounds the keynote to the annual Town Lighting ceremony.

If you’ve spent at least a year of your life in the area, you’ll know the event as the “real” kickoff to the holidays — not just in Red Bank but all around the greater ‘green. And it’s just the tip of the icicle for a sleighload slate of activities that begins in earnest this weekend.

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