It’s been quite some time since our last blog poll, so here’s one that everyone should enjoy. Next time you’re looking for places to eat in Rahway, just check back here, and feel free to use the comments section below after visits to any of these places.
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‘Tentative thumbs up’ for amphitheater
An editorial in Monday’s Home News-Tribune, found here on MyCentralJersey.com, gives a “tentative thumbs up” to the Hamilton Street amphitheater that’s expected to break ground this fall.
The thumbs up was tentative “because of the price,” quoting city officials that estimate the $3.5-million project will cost taxpayers about $40 per year. “That’s hard to swallow, especially in these uncertain economic times.”
But they also describe the project as “ambitious” and “like the notion of a large public space to benefit many from the community and from surrounding towns.” The plan to renovate the nearby Bell Telephone building for a 200-seat black box theater and dance studio “helps maintain the city’s character,” the editorial noted, and makes reference to other cities, like Princeton, that “have successfully used the arts as an economic engine.” (Speaking of Princeton, here’s a story on a new five-story, 52-unit residential-retail complex built downtown.)
Not to quibble but for what it’s worth, the editorial also referred to a nonexistent Hamilton Avenue (it’s Hamilton Street in Rahway).
Art Hive opens new space
The Rahway Art Hive will host a gala opening Thursday from 6 to 11 p.m. to open its new space on Main Street, coinciding with the Arts District‘s monthly First Thursdays event.
The art studio and co-op gallery will be three times as big as its former home on East Cherry Street and expand to eight artists. The former camera shop sign has been replaced with a colorful mural above the Main Street storefronts.
A few years ago, there was some talk about possibly bringing an upscale, sit-down Chinese restaurant into the space, when Main Street Barber Shop moved next door after Sound-A-Rama was subdivided.
Beana’s nabs third place for Best Mexican
Beana’s Mexican Restaurant on St. Georges Avenue took third place in the Mexican category of Inside Jersey‘s “Best of N.J. Restaurants” feature this week.
New Jersey Monthly has its annual critics’ and readers’ restaurant poll but no word on how the top three were selected by Inside Jersey.
Amphitheater out to bid this month
The 1,000-seat amphitheater planned for the former Hamilton Laundry site is expected to go out for construction bids by the end of this month and break ground by October, City Engineer James Housten told the Redevelompent Agency at its meeting last week.
To date, soil investigation has been completed and remediation plans have been approved while oil tanks have been removed and monitoring wells set up, he said. Remediation will take place on site and construction will begin immediately after that, he added.
Chess Mates opens on Irving Street
Excuse the recent hiatus, we’ll catch up on a few things this week.
Several new stores opened downtown within the last few months, among the more prominent ones is Chess Mates, the second retail tenant in the Park Square development on Irving Street.
The grand opening originally was scheduled in March but was postponed and finally opened in mid-June. Chess Mates occupies the second retail space in Park Square, next to Eyes On You, and has a three-year lease for about 1,000 square feet.
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Something else to catch up on: The Star-Ledger’s Munchmobile is on a pizza run again this summer and it stopped by Rahway a while ago, offering its impressions of Brooklyn Pizza. The Race Street pizzeria got a C+ with comments ranging from “perfect amount of garlic and cheese” to “average” and “soggy.” The sauce, crust and sausage “still need work” but they endorsed the white pizza.
Dance center vacates Irving Street location
Catching up on a few older items in this blog post. As pointed out by a reader email, the Union County Dance Centre last month moved out of its Irving Street location (photo at left) to a new home in Linden. Showfur Pets also vacated its East Cherry Street location.
As far as newcomers, it looks like Edward Jones Investments will be moving into one of the commercial spaces at Carriage City Plaza, next to the former Mr. G’s Coffee. Signage has been up for awhile but interior work appears to be progressing.
Since we’re on the topic of retail/commercial vacancies and I’ve been meaning to post this link for weeks, here’s a write-up on nj.com (“Pint-sized Gem: Kitchen a la Mode”) about a tiny, specialized kitchen store in downtown South Orange. It goes back to the types of niche stores and merchants that a downtown needs or wants, something Rahway surveyed a few years ago.
And in another look at what other towns are doing, Metuchen has started offering 10 minutes of free parking downtown. The Rahway Parking Authority reinstituted parking meters downtown last summer but the parking deck offers up to 30 minutes free.
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Here’s a piece in Philanthropy Journal (“Nonprofit theaters see financial upswing”) that examines two reports about nonprofit theaters. One reports theaters are rebounding slightly from budget cuts yet many still expect cash flow problems this year, while the other indicates theaters still face staff reductions and changes, including smaller shows and casts and greater reliance on local talent.
There’s also this story from nj.com last month about some arts groups cutting back schedules or closing altogether.
City moves to demolish E. Cherry St. building
The city has notified Dornoch that it will proceed legally to knock down the burned out building at 65 E. Cherry St.
City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier last fall asked the city engineer and city construction official to investigate whether the building was structurally sound or should be razed.
Dornoch presented plans to develop the property in November 2007, adding a third floor with residential units on the second and third floors and ground-floor retail. The building housed a former wig and beauty supply store on the first floor before a fire destroyed it in summer of 2005.