RED BANK: STUDENTS RETHINK MONMOUTH ST.

Curtis McDaniel discussing the concept plan he co-created, showing an eastward view along Monmouth Street. Below, developer Todd Herman comments on a student pitch. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Assignment: come up with new design concepts to enliven the stretch of Monmouth Street between the train station and borough hall in Red Bank.

The response: lots of new apartments, rooftop bars, hidden parking decks, pockets of greenery and even an amphitheater across the street from the Count Basie Center for the Performing Arts.

December 18, 2018 - 11:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: CONSIGNMENT SHOP APPROVED

After a vacancy of almost two years, the space last occupied by Brownstone Dry Cleaner at Monmouth and Pearl streets in Red Bank is about to get a new tenant, according to paperwork on file at borough hall.

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October 31, 2017 - 2:30 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: OLD-TIME SODA SHOP PLANNED

Fizz Soda Fountain, featuring burgers, shakes and a 1940’s-era soda dispenser, is to replace the Red Bank Sub Shop, at 8 Monmouth Street. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Throwing in the towel on the increasingly competitive market for subs, a Red Bank eatery is going old-school.

Canio Paradiso’s Red Bank Sub Shop, at 8 Monmouth Street, which closed for renovations earlier this summer, plans to reopen next month as Fizz Soda Fountain.

August 19, 2016 - 10:24 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: VEHICLE CLIPS UTILITY POLE

A piece of a utility pole was left dangling in air after the lower portion was struck by a vehicle on Mpale Avenue near Monmouth Street in Red Bank Wednesday afternoon. Information on the crash was not immediately available, but there appeared to be no injuries resulting, said a person on the scene. As of 3:38 p.m., police had closed off northbound Maple Avenue between Chestnut and Monmouth Street to facilitate repairs. (Reader photo. Click to enlarge)

June 22, 2016 - 3:47 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: DOWNTOWN GETS INSTANT MURAL

A team of painters, including 13 students from the visual arts program at Red Bank Regional, worked on the mural throughout the day Saturday and into early Sunday. (Photos by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

rb mural 060416 3 Racing to finish before an expected rain, a team of artists and volunteers painted a two-story mural in downtown Red Bank over the weekend.

Overlooking the parking lot for Buona Sera restaurant at Monmouth Street and Maple Avenue, the mural promotes a film festival scheduled to light up movie screens in town next month.

June 6, 2016 - 7:40 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FILM FEST MURAL GREENLIGHTED

A scan from a flyer given out at Wednesday’s council meeting shows a rendering of the proposed mural, at left, and the building it would go on. At bottom right is a 150-foot-tall mural the artist, Misha Tyutyunik, helped create in SoHo. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A prominent black wall in downtown Red Bank may soon be covered with a two-story-high, somewhat psychedelic mural.

The borough council greenlighted the makeover Wednesday night after an organizer of a film festival scheduled to hit town this summer offered it as what he called a “gift” to the town.

May 13, 2016 - 7:59 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: LAUNDROMAT TO REOPEN

Four months after the Brownstone Dry Cleaner and Laundromat on Monmouth Street in Red Bank was evicted over tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent, the self-serve laundromat portion of the operation is expected to reopen soon under new management, one of the building’s owners tells redbankgreen. Nearly all dry-cleaned clothing left behind by the former tenant has been returned to customers, and the storefont at the corner of Pearl Street remains available for lease, the owner said. (Click to enlarge)

April 12, 2016 - 7:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: MR. PIZZA SLICE RETURNS

After a two-month gut-job remodeling, Red Bank’s beloved Mr. Pizza Slice was back in business Thursday morning, according to a Twitter post by Red Bank RiverCenter. The fully renovated Monmouth Street mainstay features longtime owner Steve Napolitani‘s pizza recipe, as well as dishes by new owners Tom Cappello of Gaetano’s and Nick Napoletano of Whipped Bites.

Also expected to be back in business: the restaurant’s long-busted Ms. Pac-Man machine. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

March 3, 2016 - 11:47 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FROM THE SOUTH TO YOUR MOUTH

Clare Destoppelaire, manager of the Charleston Shops in Red Bank, shows off some of the Low Country food she sells. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Filling in the space on Monmouth Street recently vacated by Toad Hollow is Red Bank’s newest purveyor of epicurean delights: the Charleston Shops. And it’s got a Southern accent.

Owners Isa and Peter Hewitt, a couple who live in north Jersey, love visiting the coastal Low Country area of South Carolina, where they have a home. So much so that they now have three Charleston Shops in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, betting that other northerners will enjoy what Charleston has to offer as well.

January 20, 2016 - 8:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: MR. PIZZA SLICE TO KEEP RECIPE

Nick Napoletano shows one of the windows discovered beneath the paneling at Mr. Pizza Slice. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

After getting pounded flat and spun in the air by commenters, the new owners of Mr. Pizza Slice in Red Bank have reversed course and decided to keep the old pizza recipe on the menu.

As the cheesy paneling came down inside the Monmouth Street slice-and-soda joint earlier this week, new co-owner Nick Napoletano told PieHole that longtime owner Steve Napolitani‘s pizza recipe would be preserved, along with his “signature” fries and hot dogs.

January 15, 2016 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? A PIG AND FIG

The Pig and Fig sandwich from the Cheese Cave. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Four and a half years after opening on Monmouth Street in Red Bank, the Cheese Cave, a boutique cheese shop, is often swamped for takeout at lunch time. Whether you call ahead or order when you get there, you may have to wait in line.

If you have the time though, you should consider eating inside. The atmosphere is woodsy and calm. Sandwiches are served on bread boards instead of plates, adding an old-world rustic touch.

But it’s the sandwich combinations — or “sanwicheeses,” as they say here — that pack ’em in.
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September 25, 2015 - 9:36 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: MONMOUTH STREET CHURNS

Moving to Red Bank from Spring Lake, Charleston Shops is taking over 9 Monmouth Street, above, former home of Toad Hollow.

By JOHN T. WARD

This installment of redbankgreen’s Retail Churn finds lots of changes underway at the corner of Broad and Monmouth streets in Red Bank.

And a good deal of it is happening at 80 Broad, the former Red Bank Mini Mall building at the southwest corner of that intersection that recently added Toki as a tenant.

August 3, 2015 - 9:24 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: MORE KIOSKS, YES; APPS, MAYBE

Wiring for kiosks along Monmouth Street was installed when the street was refurbished two years ago. Kiosks on Bridge Avenue would be solar-powered. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank is about to get more parking kiosks, under action by the borough council Wednesday night. But it’s also looking into mobile apps that could make them unnecessary.

The council authorized spending $135,308 for 13 new kiosks, to be installed along Monmouth Street from Maple Avenue west to Bridge Avenue, and along a stretch of Bridge.

At the same time, officials said they would look into the possibility of integrating one or two apps with the system: one that would allow an arriving motorist to find an open parking spot, and another to pay for it from the comfort of the car.

January 29, 2015 - 9:37 am | Comments ()

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? A HEFTY ITALIAN

The #5 from Red Bank Sub Shop is the classic Italian sub that other sandwiches want to be. The shop has an impressive soda selection as well, below. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

By JIM WILLIS

PieHole popped in at the Red Bank Sub Shop on Monmouth Street to grab a couple of sandwiches for takeout. We ordered up a half a #5 – your classic Jersey “Italian” sub with ham, capicola, prosciuttini and provolone ($6.95) – and a half a turkey sub ($6.95).

As in any respectable sub shop, the sandwiches are made to order. While waiting for the meat to be sliced and the sandwiches made up, we noticed a few things that set owner Canio Paradiso’s place apart from other sub shops in town. The menu, for starters, features a couple of combinations that we were glad to see.

December 19, 2014 - 9:14 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: CHECKING IN ON BOULANGERIE

Ayca User of Antoinette Boulangerie with a platter of croissants. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

What could be better than café au lait and a fresh-baked croissant? How about a coconut chocolate croissant specially made for the season?

This is just one of the delectable sweets to come out of the kitchen at Antoinette Boulangerie on Monmouth Street in Red Bank. Opened just eight months ago in the middle of a snowstorm, the French pastry shop has garnered serious attention and appreciation from the local public. It is often busy, particularly on the weekends.

August 26, 2014 - 8:26 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: THE SWEET AFTERTASTE

Melanie Pomerico, owner of Lil’ Cutie Pops, holds a bouquet of cocktail-themed cakes. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge.)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Cocktail Week, a townwide party that showcased the bars and bartenders in Red Bank, had some sweet support from borough bakers.

Lil’ Cutie Pops on Monmouth Street made three flavors of its signature cake pops: Bailey’s Irish Cream, Guinness Dark Chocolate and Margarita. Although they were baked especially for the themed event, all three treats are often in stock or can be special-ordered, shop owner Melanie Pomerico said.

August 20, 2014 - 10:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BELATED GOODBYES TO A DINER

Sisters Sarah and Claire Taylor came to the Broadway Diner from Ocean Township with their mom on Tuesday not knowing it had closed. Below, the diner’s famous buttermilk pancakes are now a memory. (Photos by John T. Ward and Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

The promise of a “Diner Open 24 HRS,” proclaimed in neon, ended in Red Bank Monday morning without an opportunity for fans even to say goodbye.

For 18 years, the Broadway Diner on Monmouth Street was a vital and consistent part of the community, as reflected in the degree to which both staffers and customers felt blindsided by its abrupt closing.

“I am in mourning,” said 18-year-old Colts Neck resident Jess Soden, who came into town with a friend Monday afternoon jonesing for the diner’s waffles, but ended up theatrically curled into a fetal position on its front steps. “They were just so crunchy, yet so fluffy on the inside.”

July 22, 2014 - 4:48 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: A NEW BREED OF NETWORKING

The Dog Days of Summer are back, as the monthly promotion for four-legged visitors (and their human handlers) returns to Monmouth Street on Tuesday evening.

When the idea was first floated last year, Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna called the promotion known as Dog Days of Summer “a great community-building event…I think it’s going to put us on the map.”

Beginning tomorrow, June 17, and continuing on the third Tuesday of July and August, the Dog Days event finds Monmouth Street closed between Broad Street and Drummond Place from 6 to 9 pm. It’s an interlude in which dog-friendly downtown businesses — identified by the pawprint decal in their window — welcome four-legged visitors and their human personal assistants to enjoy tabletop takeout dining, grooming options, and other pet related products and services (doggie wear, treats, pet accessories and more).

June 16, 2014 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: TASTY RED SNAPPER SUSHI

A great selection of rolls to choose from among the lunch specials scratched our itch for brown rice sushi at Sogo Sushi. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

By JIM WILLIS

Sogo Sushi on Monmouth Street in Red Bank is known for its brown rice sushi. The very slight nutty taste and more robust texture of the brown rice make for a deliciously unique accompaniment to the usual sushi fare.

It’s also a bit addicting, and so we headed to get our fix for this week’s What’s For Lunch.

March 14, 2014 - 11:49 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PERUVIAN EATERY NEARS OPENING

A Runa employee tells PieHole the Peruvian restaurant on Monmouth Street is a few weeks from opening. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

By JIM WILLIS

morsels medium Several PieHole readers have asked what’s up with the much-anticipated Peruvian place on Monmouth Street in Red Bank.

The space, vacated by Eurasian Eatery in spring of 2012, began its transformation in the summer of 2012 into the town’s first Peruvian eatery, but appears to have been “under construction” ever since.

February 25, 2014 - 11:12 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SHOP LOCAL EATERS GIFT GUIDE

PieHole knows that local foraging is the best foraging. For the food lovers on your gift list we have assembled 12 Days of PieHole’s First Annual Shop Local Holiday Food & Drink Gift Guide. This is the 1st in the series.

We stumbled upon this dynamite stocking-stuffer at the olive oil purveyor, Carter & Cavero on Monmouth Street. It’s a hot and spicy Calabrese vegetable spread that you could also use as a marinade. $9.95

December 13, 2013 - 9:53 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FUR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLEY

Red Bank wrapped up its first monthly Dog Days series of canine confabs with a Halloween party for the hounds on Monmouth Street Tuesday night. Check out the slobbering silliness. (Click to enlarge)

October 30, 2013 - 8:57 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SMALL BUT AIRY SUB SHOP OPENS

Canio Paradiso, center, and crew at the Red Bank Sub Shop, which opened Monday morning at 8A Monmouth Street more than two years after Paradiso first filed plans for the business. (He promises redbankgreen the scoop on what took so long.)

At right, a view of the unusual air-shaft seating area we wrote about in July 2011. (Click to enlarge)

September 16, 2013 - 10:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: STATION PLACE WORK BEGINS

After years of zoning hearings, lawsuits and aborted plans, shovels finally went into the ground last week for what’s now dubbed Station Place, 45 luxury apartments and 12 affordable units at Monmouth, West and Oakland streets in Red Bank.

Formerly to have been called Courtyards at Monmouth, the project is being built by Roger Mumford, who has replaced substandard housing on Bridge Avenue near Drs. James Parker Boulevard with new homes. Mumford tells redbankgreen he expects tenant move-ins at Station Place to begin in July, 2014. (Photos by Dan Natale. Click to enlarge)

June 24, 2013 - 6:39 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: JAMIAN’S OUTDOOR BAR OK’D

Jamian’s plans an open-air bar out back, replacing a garage on Gold Street, below. (Click to enlarge)

By COLBY WILSON

Another open-air bar is set to join the Dublin House‘s Temple Bar and the yet-to-be-built rooftop bar atop Teak on Red Bank’s Monmouth Street.

Jamians Food and Drink won borough planning board approval Monday night for a plan to to expand its restaurant and bar operations by adding back-door dining patio with eight tables and an 11-seat bar.

June 18, 2013 - 7:16 am | Comments ()

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Red Bank Green

Serving Red Bank and Greater Red Bank, NJ

RED BANK: STUDENTS RETHINK MONMOUTH ST.

RED BANK: CONSIGNMENT SHOP APPROVED

RED BANK: OLD-TIME SODA SHOP PLANNED

RED BANK: VEHICLE CLIPS UTILITY POLE

RED BANK: DOWNTOWN GETS INSTANT MURAL

RED BANK: FILM FEST MURAL GREENLIGHTED

RED BANK: LAUNDROMAT TO REOPEN

RED BANK: MR. PIZZA SLICE RETURNS

RED BANK: FROM THE SOUTH TO YOUR MOUTH

RED BANK: MR. PIZZA SLICE TO KEEP RECIPE

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? A PIG AND FIG

RED BANK: MONMOUTH STREET CHURNS

RED BANK: MORE KIOSKS, YES; APPS, MAYBE

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? A HEFTY ITALIAN

RED BANK: CHECKING IN ON BOULANGERIE

RED BANK: THE SWEET AFTERTASTE

RED BANK: BELATED GOODBYES TO A DINER

RED BANK: A NEW BREED OF NETWORKING

RED BANK: TASTY RED SNAPPER SUSHI

RED BANK: PERUVIAN EATERY NEARS OPENING

RED BANK: SHOP LOCAL EATERS GIFT GUIDE

RED BANK: FUR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLEY

RED BANK: SMALL BUT AIRY SUB SHOP OPENS

RED BANK: STATION PLACE WORK BEGINS

RED BANK: JAMIAN’S OUTDOOR BAR OK’D