RFH grad Holly Hindin of Holly Jolly Jams at opening day of the Sea Bright Farmers Market
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
By Elaine Van Develde
The Sea Bright Farmers Market is back in season and the goods are ripe for the picking.
In addition to the old favorites — Picklelicious, Fair Mountain Coffee Roasters, Harvest Moon Farm, Holly Jolly Jams, Neshanic Valley Beekeepers, Baker’s Bounty and Franklin Soapworks — there are also some small family-owned farm vendors that have joined in the second year of the outdoor locally grown, organically crafted shopping tradition in the Sea Bright Municipal Parking lot from 2 to 7 p.m. on Thursdays.
Those new additions include organic goodies, like Asian produce, herbs, free-range and grass-fed meats, farm fresh cheeses and from Green Duchess , Central Valley and Holly Hill and Harvest Moon farms. DIVE was also there offering some samples of corn and clam chowder.
Site of the former Fair Haven Sunoco gas station Photo/Elaine Van Develde
It seems as if plans for future development at the Fair Haven Sunoco station have run out of the gas to drive them home.
One thing, though, seems pretty clear — that the site at 626 River Road won’t become another gas station.
The site has been completely cleared of underground tanks and remediated for safe development. But it’s static and empty, with no sign of any sort of comeback — not yet, anyway.
“There’s no tenant,” Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli said. “It’s in a state of limbo between Sunoco and someone who may or may not be under contract (to develop the site). The site has been decommissioned and debranded, so one would assume that was done for a transfer of title. Maybe, maybe not.”
Who that title would have been or is in the works of being transferred to, the mayor said he did not know.
As for the notion of another gas station, not only have the tanks to make that a reality been removed, but “that business model in a small town is shot,” Lucarelli said. “Any new gas station being built right now is something like a WaWa or a Quick Check, with 16-24 pump operations on big highways.”
Melanie Stewart at Oceanic Free Library selling her jewelry, wreaths
Photo/screenshot of Stewart’s Facebook page
Melanie Stewart’s wreaths
Photo/screenshot of Stewart’s Facebook page
Site of Cravin Haven in April of 2015
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Sign on the door of Locals Foodery in Rumson
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Sign on the window of the former et al in Rumson
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Site of the former et al in Rumson
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Store for rent in Fair Haven Acme plaza
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Former Doc Shoppe in the Fair Haven Acme plaza is for lease.
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Former Fair Haven Doc Shoppe for lease
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
All it takes is a drive around the Rumson-Fair Haven area to see that there’s a lot of business news around the towns.
Some retail spaces have been cloaked in brown packing paper with and/or without some sort of literal sign of change. Others have interesting temporary venues and yet others are just starting out and telling their story via social media.
Here’s the business buzz in the Rumson-Fair Haven area:
Fair Havenite, Handmade Haven and Your Karma is Rockin’ owner Melanie Stewart
The jeweler/crafter is selling her wares right now out of the Oceanic Library in Rumson.
After leaving the short-lived brick-and-mortar location on River Road in Fair Haven, Stewart and her husband David have been crafting and selling wherever the opportunity presents itself.
They told Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect back in October that it’s proven more cost-effective to have a traveling venue.
So, when there was an opening at the library in Rumson, Melanie, according to a Facebook post, created like crazy and set up shop.
Her creations will be there through the end of the month.
From Melanie Stewart:
“Please shop at the Oceanic (Rumson) Library the month of April. They are featuring my jewelry and wreaths and will receive a donation for each purchase you make!
Anyone from the public is welcomed to visit and shop! 109 Avenue Of Two Rivers Rumson, 07760 732-842-2692 for hours ~ Photos of creations that are featured with price list. Thank you!”
Cravin Haven, Fair Haven
Carolyn Beamish Furguson, of the Fair Haven Business Association, tells Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect that the popular Avon-based vegan restaurant, Seed to Sprout, will replace Cravin Haven.
Cravin Haven, the short-lived, super-sized deep fryer-meets-barbecue sandwich spot in the Acme shopping center is now completely shut down.
The eatery, for which owners gave all indications that there would be a remodeling with possible reconfiguration in business in February, not so long ago sported a sign that said the business was for sale. The 1,200-square-foot space was listed for lease at $1,500 per month as a turn-key restaurant with equipment.
Now the windows are covered with brown packing paper. The inside is not empty and the sign remains, but it is still listed as one of two in the plaza for lease on loopnet.com.
Cravin Haven’s website, though, gives no indication that the business has folded. It still says that it is only closed for renovations. There is information about off-site catering. Click here for more information.
Empty storefront Acme plaza
The other unit for lease, the 900-square-foot 560 K, is next to the laundromat Wash House, a few doors down. It is empty and windows are not covered.
The information on loop net.com says now that rental rates for both are negotiable.
Replacement for Doc Shoppe?
The spot where the Doc Shoppe sat for years, in the other section of the Acme plaza fronting River Road in Fair Haven, is also for lease.
The Doc Shoppe relocated to a larger store in Red Bank last year.
The roughly 900-square-foot store is for lease through Metro Commercial Real Estate at 856-866-1900.
Fair Haven River Road business district
And in the Fair Haven business district east of Fair Haven Road, there’s been an announcement by Lisa Tave Taffin on social media that physhions, a “fashion-forward fitness apparel and accessories boutique” is opening in May at 813 River Road.
A Rumson Locals resurrection or closure?
Seemingly since the dawn of time, or roughly four decades at least, the spot at 91 East River Road in Rumson was Butler’s Deli. It was a frozen-in-time stop for anyone from old-timer townies to teens to grab those classic breakfast and lunch sandwiches and sides.
Butler’s closed in 2013 when then owner Paul Stout retired. Then well-known Rumsonite Dave Ciambrone opened Locals in the same spot in January of 2013.
Ciambrone is no stranger to Rumson business, having owned Murphy’s Tavern at one point and part of the family that owned Val’s Tavern for most of its existence.
There was a rumor that Butler’s was coming back. The sign on the door has said “Sorry, We’re Closed.”
Who knows? Mayor John Ekdahl said he isn’t certain, but did hear the rumor. The eatery, he said, has been closed since the beginning of the year.
And, it looks like the day after the photo was taken of Locals cloaked in brown packing paper with a “Sorry, We’re Closed” sign on the door, it was revealed that former owner Paul Stout is coming out of retirement to reopen as Butler’s Market. Soon. Stay tuned.
Across East River Road in Rumson at gourmet food stop, et al …
A sign on the window at 114 East River Road says, “For Rent.”
No further information was available at the site that was formerly Le Bon Panier.
The et al eatery now has a location in Highlands. There was a plan for et al to have two locations, in Rumson and Highlands, after renovations. But the sign indicates otherwise.
Time will tell.
What would you like to see at one or any of these business locations?
It’s a distinct sign of the arrival of spring in Fair Haven when sidewalk cafe permits start getting approved.
So far, three were sanctioned at the March 23 Borough Council meeting: Umberto’s, Kind Burger and Fairwinds Deli.
And with the advent of warmer weather, more sidewalk dining is expected to sprout around town at other usual spots, such as Booskerdoo, Balderose Fine Foods and Tavolo.
Over the past few years, officials have encouraged the al fresco eating in the borough along with the use of sidewalks for other business boosts. They have seen it as another measure to add to the ambience of the downtown area and complement its Streetscape program amenities.
The permits approved for Umberto’s, Fairwinds and Kind Burger allow for the following outdoor seating:
• Umberto’s will be allowed four tables and 12 chairs;
• Kind burger will have four tables with eight chairs;
• and Fairwinds will be allowed five outdoor tables to accommodate 20 patrons.
It’s official. Fair Haven is down to one gas station in town.
As locals have long speculated what will replace the nearly three-year shuttered former Fair Haven Sunoco at the corner of River Road and Cedar Avenue, equipment has been digging into the tarred lot, fenced-in lot and officials have only confirmed that it will not be re-purposed as another gas station.
In fact, they said at Monday night’s Borough Council meeting, all the excavation by EV Banta Co., of East Orange, is about the “decommission of the (gas) tanks” on the site. That’s all.
No plans for anything to be built at the site have yet been submitted to the Planning Board.
Yet, because of the permits acquired for the decommissioning, it is clear to officials that “there is no intention to keep it as a gas station,” Fair Haven Administrator Theresa Casagrande said.
Zoned for business use, no one offered any more information about what may be unofficially planned by a lessee or new owner. For a couple of years a “For Lease” sign was hung on one of the building’s bays.
The site long housed a gas station under management at different intervals. In its last life, it was Rich’s Ultra Sunoco. Rich’s could no longer afford the lease, Mayor Ben Lucarelli had said. Before that, it was Duckworth’s Sunoco. And that list of gas stations on the plat of land goes back a long time.
The only remaining gas station in the 1.4-square-mile borough will now be the Valero a few blocks away on River Road, formerly Ray Miller’s Exxon and Esso at one point.
Years back, there were yet another three, besides Valero and Sunoco, gas stations in town: another on the opposite corner from Sunoco, at Cedar and Hance roads; one sat on the corner of Gillespie Avenue and River Road, where a veterinarian’s office now sits; another was on the corner of Fair Haven and River roads, where Balderose Fine Foods now sits; and yet another was where the Foreign Cars of Monmouth is anchored.
Between Rumson and Fair Haven, dating back a couple of decades, there were 12 gas stations — six in Rumson and six in Fair Haven.
The sign says Cravin Haven is for sale. Photo/Elaine Van Develde
By Elaine Van Develde
It was a little more than a year ago that Cravin Haven opened its specialty comfort food doors in the Acme shopping center in Fair Haven.
Now, shortly after the owners announced on Facebook that the eatery would close for the month of February for renovations, the business that brought several deep fryer-meets-barbecue goodies together on one heaping sandwich is for sale.
A chalkboard sign on the storefront says so. And a search of businesses for sale confirms that a $1,500-a-month lease of the space that houses the business comes with it. A price for the business (brand) itself was not listed.
The 1,200-square-foot place that made its short-lived mark satisfying some unique and large food cravings is, according to commercial real estate website LoopNet, for sale as a “turn key restaurant,” with more than 40 seats and equipment that is “less than 12 months old.”
When it opened in January of 2014, Fair Havenites Anthony Mazzucca, Matt and Elaine Jones and Michael Mazzucca were partners.
Anthony Mazzucca is the former chef of Val’s Tavern. Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect reached out to him for a comment. As of press time, he was not available.
The other Cravin partners have restaurant backgrounds as well: Michael Mazzucca is the owner of Five Guys franchises, Elaine Jones is the former manager of Playwright Tavern in New York, NY, and her husband, Matt, is managing director of Food Services Ireland, a Cravin Haven opening release said.
According to the sign in the window, those interested in purchasing the business can call 732-809-8034.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
It was a dank, dreary day back in October of 2012. Steven Graniero and Christina Dilorio stood at the bottom of bleachers overflowing with sanguine Hurricane Sandy victims at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School.
The weather gave them an eerie embrace as if to get in another jab as they held onto one another, wiping away tears and trying to comprehend what had just happened.
The engaged couple had just lost everything but one another to Sandy. After earning their stripes bar tending and waiting tables, the two, who met at work, had saved all their pennies to make a dream come true and open a small beachy bar/restaurant of their own in Sea Bright.
John Rego, painter, puts finishing touches on the walls of Balderose Fine Foods in Fair Haven days before its initial opening. Photo/Elaine Van Develde
It was a year ago, almost to the day, that Balderose Fine Foods had its final opening.
We say final, because the eatery had a short-lived initial opening in 2013. Now, a year later, it’s our Retro Pic of the Day.
The story? After a partnership re-routing and some fiscal house cleaning, the gourmet specialty shop at the corner of Fair Haven and River roads took root with a second grand opening on Jan. 17, 2014.
It has since flourished as a local mainstay stop for breakfast goods, soups, sandwiches, salads, desserts, some organic packaged goodies and unique prepared take-home fine food dishes ever since.
The eatery’s namesake is Anthony Balderose, who operates the business and cooks. Once Balderose Fine Foods, LLC, the business was sold to Quirk, LLC on Jan. 7, 2014.
Balderose, a former executive chef at Balducci’s in Manhattan and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), had a vision to bring a New York-style gourmet shop to the area. His dream came true.
There are a lot of downtown business bargains going on for the holidays in Fair Haven right now.
However, one shop, in particular, is now aiming to make sure that all fans get their orders in by Thursday night to ensure a timely Christmas delivery. That shop is Booskerdoo.
“To receive it by Christmas Eve, order by Dec 18th,” another post not the page added. “Use coupon code ‘davy10’ for 10% off an order of three bags or more. All coffee is roasted the same day we mail it to you.”
A little slice of area toy store history went tumbling down on Tuesday.
The building that used to house the iconic Mike’s Toy Store in Little Silver is no more. And as it was toppled, childhood memories arose.
Mike’s was that kind of place for which many a kid in the Rumson-Fair Haven area saved his or her pennies, clutched in their tiny fists, for a jaunt to the wonderland to purchase a token toy dream come true.
And, some might say, the irony was uncanny that the place that many saw as their own fantasy Santa’s workshop came down at Christmas time. The jolt of the toy graveyard scene crushed old-timers’ nostalgia-riddled souls while igniting that child-like light from within.
An empty tiki bar sits on the spot where Donovan’s was bustling before Hurricane Sandy. Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Rumson-Fair Haven area people, it’s cold outside!
So, here’s a peek back to the summer of 2014 on Sea Bright beach to warm you up a little.
The volleyball nets were up, beach bums were sunning, swimming and surfing and a reminder of what’s to come with the rebirth of Donovan’s Reef sat barren on the beach.
The mainstay locals’ beach bar, obliterated by Hurricane Sandy, was slated for a small preview-like comeback over the summer. A tiki bar was set up on the beach but never quite made it to full-swing operational mode.
Word is that the iconic bar will be back in much different form for the summer of 2015.
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