Shop on Grove Street

We've been working on a handy little Grove Street area shopping guide, sort of like a mall directory, but without all the insipid elevator music or build-a-bear workshops. Not only does Grove Street have some great restaurants, but a number of unique and independent retailers worth patronizing. We're still working on adding a few previously overlooked businesses, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out now:

Grove Street Shopping District

Excitement Builds as Another Convenience Store is Set to Open on Newark Avenue

Newark Avenue, the long beleaguered shopping district in the downtown, is getting a new store: a convenience store. TwentyFour 7 is replacing Gas, a men's boutique store that had a shelf life of about three weeks. Don't tell 7-Eleven corporate though, because the store's signage looks remarkably similar.

Across the street, adjacent to the former Ox restaurant is another convenience bodega grocery that opened last year, and a block further east on Newark is yet another that opened at about the same time. These new stores join long time favorites Grove Newstand and Downtown Newstand all within a two block stretch of Newark Avenue.

Doggie Daycare Coming to Waldo Lofts

One of the long vacant retail spaces in the base of the Waldo Lofts on Second Street is finally filling up. K9dergarten, a dog day care and boarding facility is setting up shop offering the usual in puppy pampering for absentee moms and dads.

Bodega Takes Up Former Pharmacy Location

Hamilton Park's Newport Pharmacy moved across the street earlier this year into the new Hamilton Square development. A new bodega is replacing the vacated space on 9th and Erie Streets.

Toy Store Replacing Bookstore

Jack's Toys and Games appears to be replacing the recently closed Imagine Atrium, a semi-literate bookstore and gift store that closed earlier this year. The Jersey Avenue location is between Columbus Drive and Newark Avenue.

Failed Housewares Store Replaced With New Housewares Store

Kannibal Home, a fancy housewares merchant, has replaced On The Inside, a similar store that closed a few months back. The Montgomery Street shop is tiny, but filled with both home goods and women's apparel. Below, the former shop on the site, On the Inside:

Grove Street Bicycle Shop Opens

A new bicycle shop opened on Grove Street at First Street. The store is stuffed with bicycles and accessories.

Tasti D-Lite Really Coming

Tasti D-Lite really is coming to the base of Grove Pointe. The storefront on Marin Blvd will join Duane Reade, Starbucks, Valley National Bank, and an organic dry cleaners. Three other retail locations are still available. For now, the northeast corner space houses three art pieces constructed of Lego bricks.

Retail Closings

The weakening economy is not helping the downtown's beleaguered retail district. Imagine Atrium, the bookstore - gift shop is more or less finished. Rumors on JCList point out that home decor shop On The Inside, pictured above, is closing as well as Maxmillian, a children's clothing boutique.

"Manhattan" Style Deli

The south east corner retail space in Liberty Towers will eventually have a "Manhattan" style deli, as first noted in July. There will probably be some high end grocery items as well as prepared foods, like most Manhattan style delis. Of course, unlike New York delis, there will be no beer in the cold drinks section, since selling groceries and beer side by side is illegal in New Jersey.

Organic Dry Cleaning in Liberty Harbor

Liberty Harbor's latest retail opening is an organic dry cleaners along Grand Street.

Boutique Opens on Jersey Avenue, Others Close Up

A new boutique opened last month on Jersey Avenue at Fourth Street. Meanwhile, the short lived Gas Men's Clothing seems to have closed for good. Rumor has too that Imagine Atrium, the little gift shop that sold books, has a "For Rent" sign in the window.

Citiroots Home Decor Coming to Paulus Hook

Paulus Hook will soon have a new home decor and accessories boutique on Washington Street. The Paulus Hook neighborhood is beginning to develop a critical mass of boutique stores; Citiroots will be next door to Betty's Bassinet, and just a few blocks away from LIFE Men's Store and Giggles N Barks.

Sweeter Side of Jersey City

Cocoa Bakery and Cafe is coming to Liberty Harbor North, a few doors down from Edible Arrangements. The bakery and cafe is the product of pastry chef Jessica Isaacs of notable Manhattan eatery, Nobu.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, the Made with Love Organic Bakery will soon be replacing Sweet Priscilla. The new bakery is just a few doors away from cookie factory Feed Your Soul.



Cocoa Bakery Cafe
Made With Love

Grove Street Bicycles Construction Watch

The store front for the future Grove Street Bicycles is currently under construction, wrapped up in a plywood shell while work crews prepare the site. How soon the new shop will open is ambiguous.

Bike Shop Coming to Grove Street

A vacant store front on Grove Street near First has a construction permit issued to Grove Bicycle.

Sneaker Boutique Opens On Jersey Avenue

At the end of August, a new sneaker boutique opened on Jersey Avenue. The store identifies itself as selling "streetwear" brands, and is also a graphic design house. Daily Dose is located at 510 Jersey Avenue, between Wayne and Columbus.

Daily Dose

Pink Priscilla

It's a Girl! Or a giant bottle of Pepto-Bismol exploded. Either way, the former Sweet Priscilla cafe that closed earlier this summer, got a paint job.

This super secret spy shot of the interior suggests it will still be a cafe, albeit a very pink cafe.

Small Development Rises on First Street

A new building is sprouting up on Jersey Avenue at First Street. The site broke ground a few weeks ago and is already well onto a third story. The lot was once used for selling Christmas trees. The site is just off Newark Avenue -- the bank of America on Newark Avenue spans the block and is visible on the left in the above photo.



The building does appear to have large open spaces on the ground floor, presumably for retail space.

Deli, Not Grocery For Paulus Hook

Paulus Hook residents may be disappointed to learn that Liberty Towers will be getting something more like a deli rather than a grocery store, according to the Life Vicarious. Paulus Hook doesn't have much in the way of real grocery stores, not that other neighborhoods are much better off considering the underwhelming PathMark and Shoprite.

Shopping Carts Infest Downtown

Shopping carts from discount retailer BJ's Wholesale Club have begun littering downtown Jersey City. Its not just bag ladies either; the carts are rumored to have appeared in the hallways of new luxury apartment towers.

So far, neither BJ's nor the city have done much in the way of cracking down on the abandoned carts. One solution the city could implement is simply fining BJ's Wholesale Club for every cart found around the city. The retailer would probably quickly figure out a way to keep their carts on their lot.


A BJ's cart is tucked beside a motorcycle on Wayne Street


Outside of Grove Pointe, a cart lurks filled with plastic bags


Columbus Drive


Columbus Drive and Marin Blvd

UPDATE

Found another one in the Italian Village, First Street.


UPDATE 2

Newark Avenue Parking Lot

Second Street. This is the nearest to BJ's of any of the carts, at just two blocks away. Also, someone was brown-bagging it and left their bottle in the cart.

Retail Happenings

Shoes are out and deli meats are in over on Jersey Avenue where Marow Deli has replaced the former Shoe Fetish. The best news is the deli promises 24-hour a day service, meaning another set of eyes watching the street.



Sawa Steakhouse and Sushi bar is closer to opening in the corner of Gulls Cove having plastered the windows with bright blue signage.



A grocery store is rumored to be coming to the empty retail space in the base of Liberty Towers. The long vacant retail space is too small for a mega grocery like Whole Foods, but Paulus Hook is desperately in need of a local grocery store. Grocery stores often pay lower rates than other retail stores, but they are often seen as an amenity by potential residents, increasing rents and property values.

Aqua Tower to Double Retail

Newport's Aqua tower which recently started getting its exterior cladding is set to amend its final design phase, according to the Jersey Journal. The tower was originally planned as having 16,000 square feet of retail but is bumping that to 34,610 feet. The total residential unit count is going from 358 to 355.

The Aqua is to serve as the east side of Newport's River Market. The River Market concept was meant to bring a downtown like shopping experience to an otherwise retail scarce neighborhood. The first phase of the River Market was the retail in the base of the Shore Club, which includes a bank and the recently opened Morton Williams grocery store. The Newport skating rink is also meant to attract customers to the market in the winter time.

However, the focus of the market so far seems to be in providing services to residents rather than creating a retail destination. Additions expected in the Aqua portion of retail include a pizzeria and a school, neither of which draw in window shoppers.

Edible Arrangements Coming to Liberty Harbor North

Edible Arrangements, the flower bundles made from carved fruit, is coming to Liberty Harbor North's Grand Street retail strip.

Residents have been living in Liberty Harbor North for several months already, but retail so far is still in development. Along Grand Street, the base of the 'brownstone' units contain retail spaces that are finally now being finished. Also along grand street are two actual historic properties with retail space that have been rehabbed.

Summer Retail Thriving Downtown

Newport
Morton Williams opened yesterday in the base of the Shore Club in Newport. The high end grocery store is responsible for Newport rescinding the summer farmer's market at the Pavonia PATH station. The waterfront location is the first in New Jersey for the New York chain of premium grocers.

Kim's Video in Newport is rumored to be closing come Sunday, with genuine closeout deals on all the merchandise, up to 50% off. Kim's had been suffering a slow death over the last year.


Kim's Video in Newport


Newark Avenue
Newark Avenue looking a bit more like Paris these days. Cafe tables have sprouted up along the street in the mythical Restaurant Row. Helen's Pizza started the trend, but tables are now outside of Sawadee Thai and bar/lounge/bistro LITM. The roof deck at Skinner's Loft has also opened for the season, though apparently is only for dinner between 7 and 9.

One of the generic Newark Avenue electronics stores is closing shop and moving a block west, to reopen at 184 Newark Avenue. The independent electronic shop is taking over where Helen's Ice Cream stand was, adjacent to Helen's Pizza. The new space is much smaller.

Gas Clothing, an apparel store, recently opened as well. The building received a face lift too with the ugly metal grates having been ripped off the front -- a sure sign that the neighborhood is changing.

Gas, a new clothing store

Grove Street
Rachel, the awful little cafe on the south end of Grove Street that closed last year may soon become a new restaurant promises a sign posted in the window. The new eatery will make use of the outdoor garden and is rumored to be another Thai restaurant.


A new restaurant on Grove Street


A new wine and spirit shop is planned for Grove Street just north of Newark Avenue in the old Crescent Restaurant location, an eatery long since closed.

Crescent on Grove Street is no more

Jersey Avenue
Fish With Braids, a new gallery, opened on Jersey Avenue between Newark Avenue and Columbus Blvd. The space is small. The name, by the way, comes from the fact that the location is between a hair braiding salon and a fish market.


Fish With Braids gallery on Jersey Avenue


Shoe Fetish, a small boutique of featuring ladies shoes, has thrown in the towel and closed up shop. Our take is that the store probably was catering to ladies of the evening when they should have instead been stocking Converse.


Shoe Fetish has failed


Grove Pointe
Valley National Bank is setting up shop in Grove Pointe on the Marin Blvd side of the tower. Along with Starbucks and Duane Reade, Grove Pointe's retail is looking like nearly every street corner in Manhattan.

Internet Fuels Whole Foods Speculation

The original Whole Foods rumor was started shortly after Jersey City's first two yuppies met each other. Years later, there's still no Whole Foods, and the rumors keep swirling.

One such rumors was started here, on April 1, 2006, posting alongside such headlines as "West Side Stadium Heads West: Hoboken Jets to Play 2008 Season" and "Staten Island Concedes, Hudson County Becomes Fifth Borough" a short blurb suggesting Whole Foods was coming to Jersey City. April 1st is also known as April Fool's Day, a holiday celebrating practical jokes.

Six months later, a Jersey Journal article ran suggesting Whole Foods would eventually become an anchor tenant in Liberty Harbor North. Developer Peter Mocco would not then confirm his development was in negotiations with Whole Foods.

Meanwhile, Whole Foods continued to roll out new stores across the river in Manhattan. Early in 2007, Whole Foods was rumored to be coming to Newport's River Market, a retail block referring to the completed Shore Club and under construction Aqua tower. That grocery store turned out to be a Morton Williams, a 30,000 square foot space. That store is set to open in about a month.

Also in 2007, Mocco again confirmed Liberty Harbor was seeking a gourmet grocery store for for a major retail building on the corner of Grand Street and Jersey Avenue. However, Whole Foods was not definite, with Wegmans and Trader Joe's being suggested as alternatives by real estate agents.

The most recent rumor began today when a poster on JCList mentioned contacting a representative from Northwest Atlantic Real Estate Services. Northwest provides real estate services to major retailers, including Whole Foods. The response from the agent was simply "There is something in the works." Several hours later, new blog Grove Street "confirmed" the rumor. Accord to Grove Street blog, the representatives reply was "We are working on some stuff in jc. The exact location is still under wraps. Stay tuned."

Such rumors immediately lead to speculation across the internet as where a new Whole Foods would be located. Whole Foods requires fifty to sixty thousand square feet, and prefers on site, dedicated parking, according to an old Whole Foods website. Obviously, Whole Food's Manhattan outlets have forgone with dedicated parking. Whether or not the store would be willing to do the same in Jersey City is uncertain.

Given the size requirements, few planned retail spaces would provide large enough square footage for Whole Foods. Presently, no vacant, existing retail space downtown would accommodate the store. Newport, having just leased retail space to a competing store, won't be inviting Whole Foods to any of their retail space anytime soon. The under construction 77 Hudson Street has only 20,000 feet of retail planned, according to the JC Reporter, and that space is divided.

One suggestion on JCList was that Whole Foods was partnering with the recently approved Toll Brothers Powerhouse development; such a deal would probably bolster sales for Toll. Toll's outer borough properties have been rumored to be selling slowly, and the added amenity of a Whole Foods might be seen as a key component to the massive project. Another possibility would be that Liberty Harbor North finally closed a deal with Whole Foods for their planned retail structure. Other downtown projects currently under construction are not large enough for Whole Foods.

Regardless of its accuracy, the rumors once again are spreading across the internet. In all likelihood, today's rumor is simply the usual hype of enthusiasts hoping for a Whole Foods.

Renovated Liquor Store Could Open Next Week

Willie's Liquor, a neighborhood shop on Jersey Ave and Mercer Street closed a few months back. New owners Liberty Harbor Wine have renovated several store fronts adjacent to the old Willie's liquor location more than tripling the size of the old store. Beer was in refrigeration units over the weekend and rumors have the store opening possibly as early as Wednesday.