What kind of stores would people like to see in town(s)?
I'd like to go back to the 70s. A hardware store, kids clothing, a bakery that bakes its own bread and Christmas Stolen, stores like Decorating on a Velvet Shoestring and Molly Dickens.
a locally owned bath and beauty products store - somewhere to pick up well sourced body oils, bath oils, beauty products etc -- would love to buy platinum skin care products local vs via the web type of stuff
Higher quality than drug store but not spa like she she
I think we need more dry cleaners, nail salons, Chinese food, spa/gyms, and mobile phone stores, but that's just me 
My dream, and what would keep me in town for hours, would be a big community center/fitness club with a pool, maybe a roller rink. Classes for seniors, kids and everyone in between. something like lifetime but more community focused.
shh said:
My dream, and what would keep me in town for hours, would be a big community center/fitness club with a pool, maybe a roller rink. Classes for seniors, kids and everyone in between. something like lifetime but more community focused.
And to go along with that train of thought . . . an indoor trampoline place that would cater to both kids but also adults with fitness classes etc.
shh said:
My dream, and what would keep me in town for hours, would be a big community center/fitness club with a pool, maybe a roller rink. Classes for seniors, kids and everyone in between. something like lifetime but more community focused.
I think this would be fantastic in the new Post House, whenever that happens. A decent gym with a pool (a year round indoor pool! My kids would be in heaven!!) and showers/lockers -- commuters could exercise before or after they get on the train instead of either driving to a gym at crazy-o'clock in the morning or (in my husband's case) lugging gym clothes on the train and then having to bring his 8-hour-old sweaty gym clothes home on the train in addition to all his work stuff. Fitness classes for adults and kids... it would be wonderful. The NJ Swim Sparta location is starting to kind of be like this and I wish we had something like that close by. They have swim classes for kids/water aerobics for adults, and have started with child care and grown-up fitness.
There was just a post on the FB group about Lifetime and a lot of people said they loved it, but couldn't deal with the drive. I think a place like Lifetime--but a little more...Maplewoody--would get a lot of business.
An amazing, clean, creative children's museum. It doesn't have to be in a huge space to be really cool and would be a great place to take kids when it's too cold (or too hot!!).
A Seton Hall store of some kind. Pirate apparel, athletic wear, etc. Maybe an Under Armour store that carries SHU merch, since the school has a deal with UA. Maybe an extension of their Follett campus bookstore. Or something WSOU related, hard rock clothing and accessories. Anything that radiates Pirate blue. I just would love for people visiting/passing through to be able to see an SHU presence right in town.
Sotheby's Realty and Kidville. Both would be welcome additions to South Orange.
A butcher/deli would be nice. Ashley's has a fine deli counter, but an authentic meat shop that made an awesome Italian style sub would be great. Also, a bar with a full band stage. The Dancing Goat/Goat Cafe was awesome, but a bar with that setup would be even better. Ricaltons has a stage, but just for background type music.
A gelato/chocolate shop like The Chocolate Bar in Westfield.
Oh my, their sweets are delicious...
ms_cooper said:
A gelato/chocolate shop like The Chocolate Bar in Westfield.
Oh my, their sweets are delicious...
Mara's has gelat
A kidville would be awesome. A seafood restaurant. A French Bistro. A replica of the corner "deli" I used to go to in Piazza Pilotta on Parma, Italy, complete with retro toilets. A dive bar. A biergrten
A blow out bar for hair. Nice. Clean. Well lit. $30 bucks for a wash and blow out -- nothing else.
kibbegirl said:
A blow out bar for hair. Nice. Clean. Well lit. $30 bucks for a wash and blow out -- nothing else.
Have you seen Slek on Village Plaza (across from Spiotta Park) yet? I don't know much about them but they opened up recently and it sounds just like what you're describing!
A furniture store like Far Fetched Imports that used to be in East Hanover.
Far Fetched Imports was like Pearl River Imports in New York City. It sold Asian-themed furniture and was (to me) fun just to look around. My wife and I bought most of our kitchen set from Far Fetched Imports.
https://www.facebook.com/FarFetchedImportsNJ
Far Fetched Imports' owners were from South Orange, so if we wanted to get behind their trying again at another location we would be supporting a local business.
soorlady said:
I'd like to go back to the 70s. A hardware store, kids clothing, a bakery that bakes its own bread and Christmas Stolen, stores like Decorating on a Velvet Shoestring and Molly Dickens.
There is a hardware store right over the border on Freeman Street in Orange or West Orange (I get confused in that neighborhood) and Phil Serani's Sanitary Bakery in Orange is nearby, too. Parking is easy at the hardware store and not bad at the bakery.
I would love to see in South Orange a Seton Hall store for students and
people of South Orange. At this store there would be a section where students
could buy used text books for their classes at a discounted rate along with many
other Seton Hall relate items like T-shirts, hoodies, backpack, hats ECT. I
would also love to see in South Orange a hard wear store like the old Beck's,
and an ice cream food place like the old Grunnings, A comic book store, Coffee
house like Vangoes Ear, a small five and dime like the old Stark's, a second
hand store like Treasure Finds, Small boutiques, a trailer shop, a cheese shop,
a book and CD store. I think with more of these kinds of stores here in South
Orange more people would come to South Orange to shop and dine.
A decent bakery to replace the loss of Sonny's in Millburn Mall! No other place in the area comes close.
Somethingz_Fishy said:
kibbegirl said:Have you seen Slek on Village Plaza (across from Spiotta Park) yet? I don't know much about them but they opened up recently and it sounds just like what you're describing!
A blow out bar for hair. Nice. Clean. Well lit. $30 bucks for a wash and blow out -- nothing else.
No!!! Really? I'll have to check that out. THANKS!
I'd love to see a store like Streamers come back to South Orange. It was a balloon and party decorating type place, but I remember after school got out the place would be full of kids buying those little plastic champagne bottles where you pull the string and paper streamers pop out. They had so much more, but my memory is fuzzy. I just know that for a 13 year old it was the coolest store to go it if you had a few bucks in your pocket
Train_of_Thought said:
A Seton Hall store of some kind. Pirate apparel, athletic wear, etc. Maybe an Under Armour store that carries SHU merch, since the school has a deal with UA. Maybe an extension of their Follett campus bookstore. Or something WSOU related, hard rock clothing and accessories. Anything that radiates Pirate blue. I just would love for people visiting/passing through to be able to see an SHU presence right in town.
I'd love that too! There are so many students, faculty and staff that could be drawn into town with the right selection of stores and eateries
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I was reading the thread about Morgan's, the new liquor store, and it got me to wondering, in an ideal world, what kind of stores would people like to see in town? (I live in South Orange, so I was focusing my thoughts on there, but feel free to chime in about Maplewood.) We seem well represented by liquor stores, hair salons, drug stores and Italian restaurants, but if you had your druthers, what would you like to see come here? It doesn't have to be realistic, just what you would like to see. I'll start--for South Orange, I would like to see a bookstore, a pickle store, a locovore restaurant, and a wine/and or saki bar. (Yes, maybe I spent too many years in Brooklyn!)