New shops, eateries poised to open in Red Bank

Downtown Red Bank will head into the new year with new businesses occupying the now empty storefronts.

According to Red Bank RiverCenter, the alliance that oversees the business district, several new businesses will be opening in the coming months in the downtown, including a Vietnamese restaurant, gourmet cheese store and bakery.

“It definitely feels like there’s more happening, there’s more interest, and people are finally starting to feel secure enough to find another location for their business or open up new, and that’s good,” Nancy Adams, executive director of RiverCenter, said in an interview.

Adams said that RiverCenter’s persistent marketing and special events have helped to keep Red Bank in the public eye.

“We’ve been working really hard to keep marketing Red Bank and to keep it out there, not only to attract customers, but also to attract businesses,” she said.

“I’m sure it’s had a positive impact in what we’re seeing now, which is more people showing interest in coming here.”

Adams said that Red Bank’s attractive architecture and reputation as a regional destination also help to maintain interest.

“It’s a destination; everyone has heard of it, so it’s a place that people want to be,” she said.

She said that most downtowns only serve a small area, but Red Bank’s regional appeal has a greater potential to attract shoppers and diners.

According to Adams, RiverCenter helps to facilitate access for new businesses into the downtown.

Recently, Adams said that RiverCenter was very involved with the opening of Temple, a sit-down Chinese restaurant heading to 91 Broad St.

“Our involvement kept him in Red Bank,” Adams said.

She said that she talked to the owner for six to eight months about locations, ordinances and the parking fund contribution, which at the time was still in effect.

“I really think that a sit-down Chinese place would be a nice addition to the restaurant mix here,” she said.

Adams said that the Borough Council’s recent suspension of the parking deficiency fee has made it easier to fit new businesses into existing vacancies.

Previously, new businesses seeking to locate in the borough had to pay a fee if they could not provide the amount of parking mandated in zoning ordinances.

RiverCenter’s recent holiday events have also added to Red Bank’s appeal to both consumers and business owners.

“The [Dec.] 11th and the 18th were definitely big, busy days in Red Bank,” Adams said, attributing it, in part, to the borough’s recent approval of free parking in the public lots through Dec. 26.

“[Shoppers] love coming to a town that has different stores than what you find at every mall, so they can get something unique and different for whomever they’re buying for,” she said.

“And the added advantage of not having to worry about getting a ticket and being able to enjoy the horse-and-carriage rides and the carolers makes for a wonderful atmosphere.”

Adams said that the small-town ambiance, especially during the holidays, attracts shoppers to the downtown.

“At Christmastime, that’s what people want. That’s what they remember from being a kid, and they want to re-create that for their kids and for themselves because it feels good.

“It helps the businesses, but it also creates an environment that makes it a festive way to shop.”

Adams likened the atmosphere to going into Manhattan to see the holiday decorations.

“That’s what we try to create on a small-town scale, that atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re Christmas shopping and makes it a little more special.”

Despite what Adams described as the worst economic time in any of our lives, she said that she was optimistic for the future.

“I said this two years ago, if any downtown can rebound, Red Bank is geared to do so, between the two theaters, the movie theater, the galleries, the architecture and the river.

“There is so much going for downtown Red Bank. I sound like a commercial, but it’s true.

“It finally feels like it’s actually improving, albeit modestly,” she said.