Feet First opens on Monmouth Street, having skated across the Navesink from Middletown. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
In this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn: a skateboard shop rolls into downtown Red Bank, a comic book shop relocates, and the pandemic economy claims another handful of stores.
Michael Saunders inks a new tat for Red Bank resident Nick Goskowsky on opening day at Front Street Tattoo. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Just three months after the Red Bank council voted to allow tattoo parlors downtown, one has inked its first butterflies and skulls onto biceps and bellies.
Front Street Tattoo plans to take a portion of the space previously used by Sugarush; the cupcake shop remains. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Just a month after the Red Bank council voted to allow tattoo parlors downtown, one has inked a lease in the district.
Also in Retail Churn: a new women’s accessory shop plans to open.
Alexander Meder’s women’s clothing store, Theo, opened at 3 East Front Street this week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two new clothing stores open. A cupcake shop adds a coffee bar as another dessert business prepares to open. One restaurant changes hands while another goes dark. And a longtime barber sweeps up the clippings for the last time.
This edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn finds the usual elevated level of change in the face and character of downtown Red Bank. More →
Taking over the business from her brother and brother-in-law, Amanda Porter plans to add a café to Sugarush next week. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
It’s not so much that the block on which her business resides is undercaffeinated, by urban standards, that compelled new Sugarush owner Amanda Porter to open a café at the Red Bank desserts shop.
But add to that the fact that she’s got available storefront space; a bakery out back with the capacity to create a whole new, non-dessert treats menu; and is a self-style “coffee snob,” and well, how could she not?
Seasonal treats from Red Bank include pumpkin-filled cannolis from Sempre Cannoli, above, and pumpkin truffles from Chocolate Works, below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
Whether you’re hosting a Thanksgiving dinner or you’ve been invited to a feast, making everyone happy can be tricky.
Were you asked to bring a side dish or dessert? Do you need a hostess gift? PieHole has you covered with a cornucopia of sweet treats and savory sides available in the pumpkin-tinged town of Red Bank.
More →
Top interior designers and favorite local restaurants join forces for The Giving Tables, an exhibit of themed table settings on display at Town & Country Kitchen and Bath, with proceeds going to benefit the borough-based charity Lunch Break.
Press release from Town & Country Kitchen and Bath
On the evening of Thursday, June 4, Red Bank’s Town & Country Kitchen and Bath Showroom will host an opening reception for The Giving Tables, a fundraiser event featuring the work of participating designers and catered by local eateries. Remaining on display through June 12, The Giving Tables spotlights 12 table settings, each incorporating a seasonal theme and crafted by area designers.
Well on its way to earning the label “Red Bank tradition,” the fourth annual cancer awareness-raiser Go Naked and Check Yourself took over the Downtown Sunday evening, offering raffles, entertainment and eyecandy for a cause. redbankgreen was there, naturally. We’ve got more photos after the jump… (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
Expect lots of bared shoulders and flexed pecs when the annual Go Naked and Check Yourself fundraiser comes to the Downtown Sunday. (Photo above by Peter Lindner. Click to enlarge)
It’s an event that has at its heart a life-and-death mission — although there’s plenty of wiggle-and-jiggle room for a healthy dose of fun and flirty.
It’s the fundraiser known as Go Naked and Check Yourself — the fourth annual edition of which takes to the Downtown on Sunday, the latest in a series that’s collected over $35,000 toward raising awareness of detectable forms of cancer and promoting simple self-examination procedures.
‘Cake Boss’ Buddy Valastro at the opening of Carlo’s Bake Shop in Red Bank a year ago. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Buddy Valastro, star of TVs’s Cake Boss and owner of the year-old Carlo’s Bake Shop in Red Bank, was arrested on drunken driving charges in New York City early Thursday, according to media reports.
NJ.com, quoting prosecutors at Valastro’s arraignment Thursday evening, reports that Valastro told cops, “You can’t arrest me! I’m the Cake Boss!”
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.
Red Bank Mayor Pat Menna delivers a special proclamation, and Josh Zuckerman provides the live music, as the annual Two River Pride event comes to the Count Basie on June 10.
Press release from Count Basie Theatre
On the evening of Tuesday, June 10, the Count Basie Theatre will be the setting for Two River Pride, an annual Pride Month gathering that was created for LGBTQ youth and their allies — and that centers on LGBTQ history and celebration, by giving specific voice to area youth.
The event represents a partnership between local civic, cultural, and community leaders and groups, including Red Bank Councilman Ed Zipprich, Make It Better for Youth and others. Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna will attend, to deliver a proclamation in recognition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. This year’s event will also feature live music, a sampling of wares from some of Red Bank’s food purveyors, and screenings of three acclaimed shorts from young filmmakers.
Chris Paseka of Sugarush talks to PieHole about appearing on Food Networks new show, ‘Rewrapped.’ (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)
By JIM WILLIS
redbankgreen’s PieHole is all about local food and drink. If you haven’t liked us on Facebook yet or followed us on Twitter, you may have missed some of these recent stories…
Chris Paseka of Red Bank’s Sugarush talks to PieHole about appearing on Food Network’s ‘Rewrapped.’ (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)
By JIM WILLIS
How hard is it to replicate the taste and texture of a classic cookie?
Chris Paseka and Jesse Bello of Red Bank’s East Front Street cupcakerie, Sugarush will show the world what’s involved when they appear as contestants Monday night on a new Food Network program, Rewrapped.
Cream puff cupcakes at Cupcake Magician. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
PieHole was surprised to learn recently that Red Bank’s Cupcake Magician is considered one of the best cupcake makers in America.
That’s not a slight. Owner John Nardini, too, said he was “shocked” when we told him his Monmouth Street bakery had been ranked at number 10 nationwide by the influential Daily Meal website.
Yes, Red Bank dessert lovers, that IS Chris Paseka and his partner, Jesse Bello, at far left and right respectively, on the set of the new Food Network Show ‘Rewrapped.’ The owners of Red Bank’s Sugarush bakery are scheduled to appear on a future episode of the show, which debuts Monday night and has contestants “re-create and then reinvent some of America’s sweet and savory treats” under the watch of host Joey Fatone. Paseka tells PieHole that he is contractually bound to secrecy about the his and Bello’s involvement in the show but will give us a heads-up before the episode runs. (Click to enlarge)
Cake Boss Buddy Valastro emerges to a forest of fans and cellphone cameras at the opening of Carlo’s Bake Shop in Red Bank Monday. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Starved for a glimpse of the star, fans of TVs’s Cake Boss packed newly opened Carlo’s Bake Shop in Red Bank Monday afternoon.
Standing four deep along a Broad Street sidewalk, they greeted the Cake Boss himself, Buddy Valastro, with girlish shrieks when he emerged to open the shop.
Two questions:
Why?
And how did he get the place open so fast?
Sugarush owners Chris Paseka and Jesse Bello debuted the new party room at their Red Bank cupcake shop by holding their own wedding there Sunday. In attendance was Kathryn Barnett, whose dance studio occupied the East Front Street space for three decades before relocating to Middletown earlier this year.
“I hope they’ll be as happy as I was here for 30 years,” she told redbankgreen. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Carlo’s Bakery of ‘Cake Boss’ fame plans to open in time for the Christmas holidays at 84 Broad Street, a company official said. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Make room on the oven rack: Cake Boss is moving in on Red Bank’s sweet tooth.
Carlo’s Bakery, the Hoboken pastry shop that gave rise to cable-TV phenom ‘Cake Boss’ Buddy Valastro and his growing empire of retail bake shops, has rented the former Ricky’s Candy Cones and Chaos space at 84 Broad Street, a company official confirmed to redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.
Chris Paseka, above, and partner Jesse Bello-Paseka plan to double the size of Sugarush, taking over space vacated by the Kathryn Barnett School of Dance. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Kathryn Barnett School of Dance has relocated out of town, cupcakery Sugarush is growing into Barnett’s vacated space, and Hip and Humble Home has landed back in a storefront after several months absence.
All part of the wonderful world of Red Bank’s Retail Churn.
After 30 years in town, Kathryn Barnett has moved her East Front Street dance studio, where generations of girls have learned the art of movement, to Union Square Mall on Route 35 in Middletown, combining forces with Allegro Dance Studio.
Melanie Pomerico creates custom-designed cake pops for many occasions, such as weddings (above), holidays, themed birthday parties, and more. (Photo provided by Lil’ Cutie Pops. Click to enlarge)
By DANIELLE TEPPER
Melanie Pomerico of Tinton Falls grew up spending a lot of her time in Red Banks shops and restaurants, but didnt expect shed one day become part of the downtowns booming business community.
After graduating from Philadelphias University of the Arts in 2003 with a B.A. in photography, she turned her creativity toward baked goods. Thus Lil’ Cutie Pops, a collection of custom-made cake pops, was born in 2010, as a sideline to Pomerico’s work in the photo industry.
Little more than two years later though, she’s preparing to open a retail store, at 16 Monmouth Street, and jump into the brisk competition for local dessert dollars.
Supporters packed Teak Restaurant for the second edition of Go Naked & Check Yourself on Sunday. (Photos by Rebecca Desfosse.)
By: REBECCA DESFOSSE
Sugarush cupcakes and Sweetest Sin have done it again. Teak Restaurant was nearly busting at the seams for the second sold-out Go Naked and Check Yourself cancer fundraiser and awareness raiser Sunday night.
Waitresses passed around food, cocktails, and minicupcakes. Lingerie and underwear models, in various states of undress, sold raffle tickets. But partiers werent there for the models, of course: they were there to learn how to check themselves for detectable cancers of the skin, testicles and breasts.
Models make their way through the crowds at the inaugural Go Naked and Check Yourself awareness-raiser in 2011. This year’s edition takes place Sunday. (Click to enlarge)
By REBECCA DESFOSSE
The presidential race may be over, but theres still one more election this month: Elect to Check, the theme for this years Go Naked and Check Yourself cancer fundraiser and awareness raiser.
Red Bank’s Sugarush cupcakes and Sweetest Sin lingerie have teamed up again for the second edition of this popular and slightly risqué event that helps build awareness about detectable cancers.
Local folks gathered Thursday at Red Bank Family EyeCare to support their efforts for helping Haiti’s eyes.
By DANIELLE TEPPER
RED BANK
Thursday, October 4: Red Bank Family EyeCare Open House
Tyrone Choate, optical manager at Red Bank Family EyeCare, spent all of July volunteering at Cap Haitian Eye Center in Haiti, where he was inspired to apply what he learned at home before turning around and bringing something right back.
The doctor there really impacted me, said Choate. He wasnt doing it for the money, but out of the goodness of his heart.
The CHEC operates solely on donations, so Choate worked together with Dr. Erin Curtis to organize last week’s open house. Their goal was to raise at least $2,640, which is what it costs to sustain the Haitian clinic for one month. The night raised $2,000 from over 150 people and a portion of all eyeglass sales will be donated throughout the month of October to reach the grand total needed.
