Whether you’re all business with your haircuts, no-nonsense, get in and get out, or your barber shop is your third place where you chat and catch up, it’s time to pick your favorite.
Continue reading Poll: What’s your favorite barber shop in Rahway?
Tag Archives: barber shop
Poll results: Favorite barber shop in Rahway
Just a little off the top…
Continue reading Poll results: Favorite barber shop in Rahway
Salon fills former gallery, frame shop
A new hair salon took up the space formerly occupied by Debbie’s Grand Gallery. The gallery, at the corner of West Grand Avenue and Fernote Street, closed earlier this year.
Beyond Perfection Total Hair Care is only about a block away from Rahway Barber Shop, which opened last summer. If you’re wondering how a salon could open so close to a barber shop, you’re not alone. Almost two years ago, the Redevelopment Agency rejected a zoning overlay request to allow a full service salon on Irving Street, within the Arts District and within 1,000 feet of a similar business.
The city prohibits personal service businesses within 1,000 feet of each other, but that only applies to the B-4 (Service Business) zone, which is where the Irving Street space is located.
The West Grand Avenue salon is in a B-1 zone (Neighborhood Business), while Rahway Barber Shop is located in an R-2 zone (Medium Density Single-Family Residential). The salon also is a pre-existing non-conforming use, which is allowed, according to Richard Watkins, city construction official.
A couple of other retail/commercial moves to catch up on this summer:
* Def Def, what appears to be an urban men’s clothing store, opened on Main Street in June, replacing Charlie’s Flowers, which closed and left the space in February.
* Shake It Up Nutrition Club opened in a space on Elizabeth Avenue.
Anyone notice any others? Check back next week for an update on some tenants coming to downtown later this year.
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Not related to redevelopment, but it’s pretty cool when a local resident plays in the NFL. Check out this training camp story on Antonio Garay with the San Diego Chargers.
Barber shop in store for E. Grand property
It looks like another barber shop is in store for Rahway. While snapping photos of the demolition work for Renaissance at Rahway last week, I noticed signs in the window of the former MJ Bait and Tackle shop promoting a new barber shop, “T-Liners,” coming soon.
The property at 273-275 E. Grand Ave. was the only one not acquired for the adjacent Renaissance project, a five-story 88-unit development. The owner of the property threatened to file suit against the Renaissance project during a Planning Board meeting last spring. The lawsuit doesn’t look very likely at this point and the property has since been removed from the redevelopment area by the Redevelopment Agency.
Our coffee cup runneth over
So the “Coming Soon” sign at Mr. G’s a couple months ago wasn’t an exaggeration. It’s been open for more than a week, with an “official” grand opening planned on Monday. Last year we could barely find a cafe or coffee shop and now we can expect three by summer’s end (Kataluma Chai and Inthemix).
Planning Board potpourri
An upscale, sit-down Chinese restaurant is being eyed for Main Street. The Planning Board last month approved a zoning overlay that would allow the Sound-A-Rama building (1483 Main St.) to subdivide. Sound-A-Rama would use half the space and Main Street Barber Shop (1495 Main St.) would move into the other half while the Chinese restaurant would slide into the barber shop’s current location.
“It’s not a done deal,” Director of Building, Engineering, Planning and Economic Development Lenore Slothower told the Planning Board, but it prompted the zoning move as the building owner is looking at possibly bringing in the Chinese restaurant.
Also approved for a zoning overlay last month was a tattoo shop at 209 W. Main St., among the storefronts as it approaches Irving Street. Nearby will be a Portuguese barbeque takeout joint (10 seats) at 205 W. Main St. that the Planning Board gave minor site plan approval to in September. The zoning overlays eventually will require final approval from City Council.
I was out of town for the holiday last week, but the Zoning Board of Adjustment was expected to take up a few applications at its meeting, including possibly one for the burned out former beauty supply store on East Cherry Street and site plan approval for 1500 Main St. (the corner of East Cherry), among others.