Can the downtown area fit another 18 restuarants, on top of the existing handful already in business? Consultants that put together the Rahway Survey think so.
“Significant unmet consumer demand” within three miles of the train station (“primary trade area”) can support an additional 18 full-service restaurants, according to Community Insights, which compiled the Rahway Survey.
Preferences for full-service restaurants range from Italian, Mexican and Asian to upscale casual, steakhouses, seafood, diners
and fine food. Although restaurants can vary greatly in size, consultants estimated that most of the eateries recommended would require between 1,000 and 5,000 square feet. There’s also consumer demand for a sports bar and taverns and pubs, according to the report.
The report recommended an audit of the city’s available liquor licenses and reach out to owners of pocket licenses to minimize the risk of losing them as a result of inactivity. The city also might look into permitting BYO operations since it’s not likely that there will be sufficient licenses available to all who want one; “a common problem in older downtown areas.”
So where would we put all these restaurants? Check back Monday for recommendations from consultants on where they would go, along with other retail stores.
Previous Rahway Survey posts:
Retail supply and demand
Survey: Restaurants would draw us downtown (among other things)
Rahway Survey results are in
Come on Realist… surely you have something to say here.
what diner did you get that picture from? yum,that looks gooooood! 😉
Where to put them? Why, Main St., of course – between Lewis and Milton. Get rid of that “furniture” place or whatever it is and that entire eyesore of a block with the exception of Nancy’s.Beverly’s Sweet Shop: pack your bags… You’ve got an identity crisis… I don’t even know what that place is. We’ve already got Cubanu on the other corner of Lewis, Lucciano’s a block away and we’ve got the makings of Rahway’s own “Restuarant Row” at the ready.
Someone actually wants to hear (read) what I have to say? Now I know Armageddon must be near. Hopefully anon (11.14 12:29pm) is just waiting for me to post so they can rip me a new one and tell me I need to stop being so pessimistic and I don't even live in Rahway and, well, actually, all the usual Rahway-will-be-Hoboken-by-2009 prognosticators seem to have gone elsewhere so….(For the record for new readers of this blog, I DO in fact live in Rahway.)I don't think this survey result is all that controversial, is it? 18 restaurants within 3 miles of downtown. Why not? I would love to see a few more nice, casual spots in the immediate downtown area. But we can certainly tuck a few more decent places in other parts of Rahway, maybe on St. Georges Ave?I would love to see 2 of the 3 Chinese places downtown change over into some other type of food. I have sampled food from all three spots and none of them are particularly good. These are the types of places that sell as much fried chicken and fried whiting as they do actual Chinese food. Not unexpected given the demographics, but lets swap one of those places out with a real soulfood chicken and fish place.Example: http://tinyurl.com/5jze6l(I am not vouching for the accuracy of the blog I am linking, just wanted a photo of the type of place I am suggesting for Rahway).Smitty's Famous Fish & Chicken is fairly run-of-the-mill as fried food places go. Fried shrimp, fried chicken, fried sole, fried catfish, etc. etc. Its fresh and they have nice sides and tasty batter. Reasonably priced and would appeal to the existing Rahway community as well as the newer residents Rahway is attempting to reach out to. Anything that eliminates the Chinese places with the picture menus on the wall from 1984 would be an improvement.I would swap out the other expendable Chinese place with a fast food Mexican joint. Not a Baja Fresh (they would never open in Rahway at this stage), not a Taco Bell (we don't want that). I am talking about a Fresco Tortilla type of place. Its basically a Mexican food joint run by Chinese. Super cheap, not really authentic Mexican but it would add diversity to the cheap/greasy offerings in town.Long term I think "future-Rahway" can support a Tinga or a Chipotle but right now, you won't talk those chains into opening in Rahway when they prefer places like Westfield, Millburn, etc. I am just trying to be realistic. Baby steps will get us to a place where Rahway becomes attractive for another Lucianos and maybe a few more chain-style places and sure, 10-18 new places spread around the 3 mile area of the train station can be done.Unfortunately, in today's economy we are not going to see this happen anytime soon. Its just the wrong time to expand, especially in a place that is considered a risk.And now for an anecdote. On my way to the train last week, a foreign couple (German accent I think) asked me how to get to the Dunkin Donuts. Now I don't think they just magically ended up in Rahway so I am guessing they Pricelined their way into the Hotel Indigo. I told them there was one on Route 1 and one on St. Georges but that neither was particularly fast walking distance. As in, its a 20 min walk, not 5. But they said that was OK and they just wanted to get to one. So I directed them to the St. Georges establishment (which per Google Maps is actually 0.7 miles from Indigo vs 0.6 miles for the one on Route 1). A few seconds after I went on my way and they on theirs, I turned around again and asked them if they needed to get to a D&D specifically or if they just wanted breakfast. They said they just wanted a place where they could get a breakfast type sandwich with eggs.At this point I said they really did not need to go to D&D and instead should try the Rahway Grill on Cherry St. or the Portuguese place which serves breakfast or even Big Belly Deli. They seemed grateful for the suggestion.I am going to assume they asked the Hotel Indigo staff for some suggestions for breakfast and they were directed to D&D? Why? Why would the hotel staff NOT direct them to Cherry St. which is much much closer and has a more appealing charm to it than D&D? You get local flavor sitting in the Rahway Grill. You get French Vanilla decaf with sugar water mixed in at the D&D. (I LOVE D&D coffee by the way but if I was visiting Frankfurt, I would hope a local would direct me to something a bit more interesting.)I hope I made a bad assumption but geez, if the Indigo staff isn't going to support the local businesses, they should drop their "hip, lifestyle" self-description and not claim, as they do, to be involved in the communities in which they open.
Parking? What are people going to do? Park at MetroPark and take the train up?Also…I’ve seen a lot of restaurants fail in Rahway over the years. How are things suddenly going to be different?
I’ve heard some good reviews about the little Mexican restaurant across the street from the UCPAC.It’s not a corporate “Mexican” joint like Baja Fresh or Taco Bell or even one of those Fresco Tortilla places realist wrote about. It’s actually an authentic Mexican restaurant run by authentic Mexicans.I visited the restaurant on Irving Street about 18 months ago when it was La Malinche (sp?). I had a very filling and delicious lunch for $6. The staff was extremely friendly. I don’t know if they changed owners, but two friends dined there recently and had nothing but compliments for the eatery.
You’ve got to be kidding me! 18 more restaurants? David Drake just stopped serving lunch (dinner can’t be far behind). Rahway is no “the next Hoboken” – it will always be Rahway. I’ve worked in town for the past 20 years and it really hasn’t changed that much.
Change takes time to come about, but good convo and continual dialouge will get us many places. This town is ready to take off i just needs a push and some more creative thinking to add juice.