9/29/2008
Red Bank RiverCenter Newsletter | |
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Welcome to Red Bank RiverCenter
Greetings Business Owners!
Does your business accept Red Bank Gift Cheques? If not, why not? There is no cost to you, and the gift cheques are accepted like cash or other personal checks you might receive as payment for products or services at your business. 
RiverCenter advertises the Gift Cheque program regularly in state and local publications and on our website (where they can also be purchased online.) When someone buys them, they are provided with a list of participating businesses. Unfortunately, many businesses are not participants. Participating does not require you to offer any discounts or any free products, only that you accept them as payment. The procedure is just like you would take a personal check; they get deposited along with your daily deposits.
Last holiday season alone, $15,000 in Gift Cheques were purchased. This means $15,000 was spent in our business district at the participating businesses! Why are they so popular as teacher gifts or gifts for someone hard to buy for? Because they can be used in over 150 Red Bank stores and restaurants.
So! We urge all businesses to participate and allow recipients of these gifts to spend them at your business! For more info, call RiverCenter!
Also of note, we have received a lot of information about advertising opportunites for businesses and have included some of them in this newsletter. In tough times, advertising is even more important, but is often the first thing cut back on by businesses. We hope this information will help you keep your business on the public's radar.
Best regards,
Nancy Adams, Executive Director |
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| Programs & Services
 RiverCenter Quarterly Networking Breakfast Meeting! Attention all Red Bank business owners! Remember to get to town early and go to Murphy Style Grill, 26 Broad St. for breakfast and networking with your fellow business owners. RiverCenter Board members will also be present, so please bring your ideas, concerns or just your appetite on Wednesday, October 15th at 8:30AM. We will be having a brief presentation by a guest speaker regarding a "Shop Red Bank" reusable shopping bag we are investigating introducing for sale in area stores. RSVP to our office either via email to program.manager@rbrivercenter.com or by phone. Hope to see you there! |
| Business to Business
Music at Glen Goldbaum 72! Allenhurst native Quincy Mumford will perform live on Saturday, October 4 at Glen Goldbaum 72, located at 72 Bridge Avenue directly across from the train station. Doors open at 7:00PM, music begins at 8:00. Appetizers, poison punch and cider. No cover charge.
Vizzini & Company, 2 Bridge Ave in the Galleria introduces a new ongoing series. Design-A-Kitchen Workshop will be presented by Marvin Towler on Tues - Thurs Sept 30 - Oct 9th at the store. This free workshop includes a free kitchen workbook and solutions to update your kitchen design. Seating is limited, reservations are required. RSVP to Vizzini and Co. at 732-889-4668 or by signing up at www.vizziniandco.com. |
| Membership News
Dancing Foot Yoga Celebrates New Location! On October 4th, Dancing Foot Yoga is having a Grand Re-Opening at their new home at 16 Monmouth St. Festivities begin at 11AM with a free class for ALL ages and levels, followed by light snacks, lively conversation and guitar music by DFY's own Mike Barri until @ 2PM. Call for info, 732-219-6662, www.dancingfootyoga.com.
Oakridge Tavern (aka The Little Kraut) is holding an Octoberfest "in the left bank of Red Bank," says owner
Deiter Bomemann, on October 9th at his new organic beer garden at 115 Oakland St. The restaurant is now serving organic foods and over 27 different varieties of organic beers.
Salon 31, 31 Monmouth St., is now open for business and will be having their grand opening on Friday, October 17th from 4 - 7PM. Owner Bu Kapelewski is excited about her new salon in Red Bank. Best of luck Bu!! |
| Community Partners
 Fire Prevention Expo and Free Barbecue
To be held in White Street Parking Lot!
Members of the Red Bank Volunteer Fire Department will be hosting the 8th Annual Fire Prevention Expo and Free Barbecue in the White Street Parking Lot on Oct.12, 2008 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Rain date will be Oct.19, 2008.) The event will focus on safety for the entire family ranging from children to senior citizens. There will be no charge for admission, refreshments or giveaways. There will be fire safety demonstrations and information, a display of fire apparatus and a free barbecue (while supplies last). Children can visit a smoke house trailer and participate in various other activities. For more info, contact Pam Borghi at 732-530-2797 or Tommy Welsh at tjwelsh32@verizon.net.
Advertising Opportunities!
- The Asbury Park Press is doing a new ad promotion called, "Walk on the West Side of Red Bank that is." It's going to run every Thursday, full-page in the Red Bank/Middletown Community Reporter. There will be pictures of the store owners and an editorial in the middle about every business that participates.
- The Star-Ledger is offering a Red Bank Holiday Shopping and Dining Guide in their new Inside Jersey Magazine. The spread will be in 50,000 magazines that are delivered to all current Star-Ledger subscribers. The full-color 1/9th page ads will cost $312. Reservation deadline is Monday Oct. 6th (camera-ready ad files are due Oct 14th.) Contact Joe Colasurdo at jcolasurdo@starledger.com or at 732-661-4952.
- The Two River Times is instituting a year-end advertising rate reduction effective immediately! 1/2 page and full-page rates are being reduced 35%; all other size ad rates are reduced 25%. And, as a 'welcome back,' all advertisers inactive for 12 months or more can run a one-time ad at 40% off! Contact Tony Lupo at Tlupo@tworivertimes.net or call 732-219-5788, x223.
New Business! Outside our District, but worth a mention (as we at RiverCenter try to help promote all good things); Red Bank resident Gilda Rogers is opening a business at 163 Shrewsbury Ave. Frank Talk Art Bistro and Books will open its doors to the public at the end of September. It will be a place where people can come and enjoy spoken word, read some interesting books, perhaps buy a few of them, enjoy a cup of coffee, and be dazzled by the incredible artwork that will adorn the walls from local artists. Gilda works at Red Bank Regional High School and has always dreamed of owning her own place. We look forward to some grand opening info and wish Gilda the best of luck with her new venture!
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Tips for Businesses
The SCORE Association is a national nonprofit organization with a public service mission to maximize the success of America's existing and emerging small businesses. SCORE has been a resource partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA) since 1964. Their volunteer members have many years of experience to share with you on helping to create stronger more profitable businesses. We urge you to take advantage of an upcoming seminar they are offering: "Doing Business in a Down Market." The workshop will focus on how to create new opportunities in existing and new businesses ventures during periods of economic downturn. Discussion will include how to redirect the marketing and sales effort to meet the change in customer base and spending habits resulting from the downturn. Other key areas to be addressed will include the restructuring of expense levels, cash flows and capital outlays and their financing necessary to succeed in a depressed spending period. Register for the workshop through this website, or by calling the SCORE Monmouth office at (732) 219-9119. Date and Location: Middletown Public Library - 55 New Monmouth Road, Middletown. Tues, 10/21/08, 6:30PM - 8:30PM. | |
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Events
Farmers Market
The Galleria Sundays, 9AM-2PM through October. Parking lot at Bridge Ave./West Front Street. For more information call (732) 530-7300
Dine Downtown
Prie Fixe menus at participating restaurants on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the month of October, beginning on Wednesday, October 1st. List of restaurants is on our website.
Halloween Parade
Sunday, Oct 26th (rain date Nov. 2), 2 PM. Broad St. will be closed from Harding Dr. to White St.
Click here for more information |
Plastic Bags Update
The Plastic Bag ordinance was tabled at the last Borough Council meeting. But, as we at RiverCenter have been saying all along, regardless of whether or not THIS ordinance passes, there is a strong movement worldwide to rid the world of the flimsy plastic checkout bags that many retailers and restaurants use.
We know many of you have your own suppliers, but we promised to do a little research to find suppliers you might be able to buy your non-plastic checkout bags from; so here are some we found:
RiverCenter has surveyed some businesses who might be users of the plastic bags in question, and have found that although some said the ban will hurt their bottom line, they also understood that this is the direction of the world and they'll eventually need to comply by finding an alternative. They mention, however, that in these economic times, it will hurt even more.
RiverCenter is also researching reusable bags that we hope local businesses will agree to sell as an alternative for their customers and as PR for Red Bank as shoppers carry this bag elsewhere. Look for a separate email with more information in the coming weeks or attend the Networking Meeting on October 15th! |
Advertise to Travelers
Heading for NJ
AT NO COST! NJ Travel & Tourism launched the New Jersey Ticket to Save program to much success in 2007. Since then, the promotion
has expanded to include discounts from more than 100 merchants from across the state.
Program Details
Product: The program will feature online coupons which visitors will
print off and present to the participating merchants to obtain
the discount. In exchange for providing a discount offer, each merchant will receive a listing to include the merchant name, address, web site, phone number, brief description and offer. The merchant listings and the printable coupons will be accessible only by visiting www.njtickettosave.com.
Circulation: 400,000-460,0000
Distribution: NJ's official state travel guide will promote www.njtickettosave.com. The travel guide will be mailed in
response to calls to NJ's tourism hotline or requests from the state's official tourism web site www.visitnj.org.
Validity: 1/1-12/31 2009.
Deadline to Participate: 10/10/08
Contact Heather Hayford at 443-909-7823 or heather.hayford@mediatwo.com.
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| Nancy Adams, Executive Director, exdirector@rbrivercenter.com
Red Bank RiverCenter, 20 Broad Street, Red Bank 07701 732-842-4244
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