Grand Opening Giveaway & Specials at Wawa

What better way to get customers in the door than a giveaway? Wawa opened its Kendall Park store on Friday, Dec. 8, and is offering free coffee this week. It's also offering $1.99 12-oz. milk shakes and $2.99 6-inch hoagies to mark its grand opening week. While afternoons have been busy, mornings have been slower than expected, said one of the store's employees. 

Coupon Marketing

Wawa has sent coupons to nearby residents, so business may pick up in the mornings as people realize the store is open and adjust their morning commutes.

Grand opening features free coffee

Gas price matches the lowest price in the area

The gasoline pumps are open, as well, and the per-gallon price for regular-grade gas matches the cheapest in the area at $2.25. Diesel sells for $2.71/gallon.

The grand opening for the Somerset Wawa five miles north on Route 27 is set for this Friday, Dec. 15, with doors opening at 8 am and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 am.

New Businesses Behind IHOP

One business is expanding and two more are moving into the strip mall behind IHOP in Franklin Park. The Spice Rack is adding a banquet facility next door to its restaurant. 

Meanwhile, signs have gone up for Pasha Mediterranean Restaurant & Banquet and Cloud 9 by Pasha. So far, there are no websites for either Pasha or Cloud 9. From the sign for Cloud 9, it looks like it will be a hookah lounge. And from the name, Pasha is likely a restaurant specializing in Turkish cuisine.

Since there are no websites for either Pasha or Cloud 9, there's no telling when the businesses will open.

"This Stretch of 27" covers business on Route 27 between Finnegan's Lane and Route 518. What's your story? Email me at lkiesche@gmail.com

Liz Kiesche
Liz, a business journalist, formerly worked for Bloomberg News in Princeton and New York.

Thanksgiving: Open for Business

Most people typically think of Thanksgiving as a day off from their usual jobs, not that they're not working. Many spend hours, if not days, preparing for their annual day of thanks feast. Yet, there are many people who do not get the day off. And while that's always been the case, the annual shopping orgy of Black Friday has crept backwards into Thanksgiving, meaning more people than ever have to schedule their holiday dinner plans around their work schedule.

For those who don't work on Thanksgiving, today may be a good time to give thanks for the essential personnel on the job today. I'm talking about medical and public safety professionals--physicians, nurses, health aides, police officers, utility workers who keep the lights (and ovens on). To a lesser extent there are important (if not absolutely essential) jobs that don't take a break on holidays, such as journalists, radio and television broadcast technicians. Don't forget those who are on call and can't totally kick back.

Since Route 27 business is mostly retail, there are many stores open, some of which are surprising, like GNC. Perhaps some people would like protein powder to go along with their turkey.

 Aabh Beauty Salon and HairTime Salon were also open. Most of HairTime's customers were men stopping in for a haircut.

And yes, if you absolutely need to get your car washed today, Casino Car Wash is open.

In case you need vitamins or protein powder...

Car wash, anyone?

Preemptive Strike

Need to take off those pounds before you put them on? Call it preemptive a preemptive strike against belly bloat. Club Metro will be open until 1 pm.

Club Metro open til 1 pm 

No Holiday for Restaurants

It's not surprising that many restaurants are open today. IHOP is open until 2 pm today. Meanwhile, Confectionately Yours, which up until today was taking reservations for Thanksgiving dinner, is open until 5 pm.

Isabella (left) and Elena at IHOP on Thanksgiving morning

IHOP online orders counter open

Confectionately Yours serves Thanksgiving dinner

Need some medication? All CVS pharmacies are open today until 2 pm. Meanwhile, Walgreens is open, but its pharmacy isn't. 

Walgreens photo department open; pharmacy isn't

CVS store and pharmacy open

Urgent Care Available

If you cut or burn yourself while preparing dinner, Brunswick Urgent Care has four employees working, including a physician, to patch you up. Holidays are usually pretty busy, says Maggie, who mans the reception desk. The business is open until 5 pm today.

Maggie at Brunswick Urgent Care's reception desk

In case you have unexpected guests, Stop & Shop and Route 27 Farmers Market are open. And if you forgot to pick up wine or beer, the liquor stores along Route 27 are open, too.

Stop & Shop open for picking up orders and last-minute needs.

And to pick up beer and/or wine for dinner...

If you find Thanksgiving too stressful, you can fuel up at Valero and drive off for a last-minute vacation.

Gas stations open, as usual

"This Stretch of 27" covers business on Route 27 between Finnegan's Lane and Route 518. What's your story? Email me at lkiesche@gmail.com

Liz Kiesche
Liz, a business journalist, formerly worked for Bloomberg News in Princeton and New York.

Diner Tradition Revived in Franklin Park

Stefanos Papadimitriou and his two partners, Gus and Jimmy, were met with some skepticism when they said they planned to open a diner in Franklin Park. "People thought we were crazy," said Papadimitriou. After all, Franklin Park's population is almost 30% Asian Indian, according the U.S. Census Bureau estimate for 2015.

Established March 2016

Still, Stefanos and his partners saw a need in the community for a traditional diner. It had been about 20 years since there had been a diner in the area. (The last one I can remember was the Kendall Park Diner, which had been in the shopping center next to the roller rink.) 

Time-Tested Format

The diner opened on March 24, 2016 at the site that was formerly Four Musketeers Pizza, and business has been good. "The community was very welcoming," he says. One of the reasons why they chose this particular building is that "we didn't want anything too big," Papadimitriou says.

View from the counter (every real diner needs a counter.)

The owners don't want to stray from the time-tested diner format. "We're trying to keep the traditional approach," Papadimitriou says. The diner has two to three family-style dishes a day such as stuffed peppers or stuffed cabbage, and they're always made from scratch, as are the daily soups.

Stefanos, one of the partners

Baked goods, though, are made off-site at a bakery in northern New Jersey, including muffins, pies, cakes and cheesecake.

Taking on the Challenge

The hardest part about running the business? "Consistency," he says. A big part to maintaining consistency is making sure one of the partners is present. All three of them are there most of the time, Papadimitriou says. Like any restaurant, especially a diner, that adds up to a lot of hours. The diner opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m., seven days a week.

Staffing, too, is a challenge. "We're always searching," Papadimitrious says. A sign in front of the restaurant announces that the diner is currently seeking help.

The staffing issue

Family Connection

Diners are not new to Papadimitriou's family. His father-in-law, who owns the Manville Diner, helped him open the Franklin Park Diner. Papadimitriou, though, worked in corporate sales before deciding to leave that avenue to pursue diner life. His partners, too, have years of experience in diners. (When I stopped in, Stefanos was running head of house, while Gus was back in the kitchen.)

Community-Based Marketing

The business's marketing plan is mostly community-based, in terms of sponsoring baseball teams, dance teams, advertising in school play programs, and contributing to hospitals and other organizations. They also work with a local church. Reviews on Yelp and Facebook also help build the business, he said. Like any business, it also has a website, which features the the diner's menus.

In a community rife with Indian restaurants, Franklin Park automatically differentiates itself. Perhaps, its most direct competition is IHOP about a mile north on 27. Operating as a small, independent restaurant, though, Franklin Park Diner should be able to provide more authentic home-style fare than a large chain restaurant. Time will tell if this time-tested format succeeds in Franklin Park.

"This Stretch of 27" covers business on Route 27 between Finnegan's Lane and Route 518. What's your story? Email me at lkiesche@gmail.com

Liz Kiesche
Liz, a business journalist, formerly worked for Bloomberg News in Princeton and New York.

Coming Soon to a Strip Mall Near You (Near Me, Actually)

A new sign went up in the Park Plaza strip mall over the weekend. Persis Biryani Indian Grill will open in the space once occupied by Spice Rack restaurant. The new restaurant will add to the chain that already has 19 locations in the U.S., and will be the fourth in New Jersey. Persis's existing New Jersey locations are in Hamilton, Piscataway and Jersey City.

The company's website says each location is independently owned and operated and adheres to the Persis's guidelines and food standards. Other locations are in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida and Nebraska.

Child Care...

A couple more sign changes occurred recently at Franklin Park Plaza (the shopping center that includes the IHOP). The Wonder Years Academy preschool and day care has changed to Greatstart Early Learning. (The Franklin Park Plaza sign still says Wonder Years, though). Greatstart has four sites in New Jersey and another in the Philippines, while Wonder Years only has two locations now. Greatstart offers programs for children from 6 weeks to 13 years old, according to its website.

The original building, built in 1909, was called Franklin Park School, but renamed the Phillips School in 1931 and was part of the Franklin Township public school system until 1976, according to Wikipedia. The township recreation department used the building until 1993, when it was closed due to structural problems. It was sold, renovated and re-opened as a private childcare and preschool facility in 1999.

.. And Kidney Care

A sign went up for DaVita Kidney Care Center in the strip mall behind the IHOP. The company operates 2,445 outpatient dialysis centers in the U.S. and  217 centers in other countries as of June 30, 2017. The company opened 27 centers in its fiscal second quarter and 24 in this year's first quarter.

Lots More Coming to Riya Plaza

Rita Dance Academy is moving from Finnegans Lane in North Brunswick to Route 27 (probably no more than 500 feet from its current location). The school teaches Kathak, a dance style prevalent in northern India, according to the academy's website. 

A brand known in India, Kwality Ice Cream, is also opening a store in Riya Plaza. Headquartered in Edison, the brand is available at 10 other locations in the U.S. The chain carries more than 57 gourmet ice creams and specializes in Cassta, Kulfi, eggless ice cream cakes and sugar-free ice creams.   

Five-minute pizza? Pie Five Pizza Co. is also opening up in the same strip mall. The  chain, based on the premise of preparing pizza in five minutes, stretches as far west as Nebraska and Texas and as far north as Minnesota. The company also plans to open a location on Route 18 in East Brunswick and another on Long Island.

Also coming to Riya Plaza is Les Delices Bakery and New Nail Time & Spa

.

Let me know what's going on in your business on Route 27 between Finnegan's Lane and Route 518. Email me at lkiesche@gmail.com

Liz Kiesche
Liz, a business journalist, formerly worked for Bloomberg News in Princeton and New York.

Route 27 Profile: Bikanervala Marks U.S. Debut

Indian sweets maker, Bikanervala, has made its entry into the U.S. market by opening a store and restaurant in Kendall Park on Aug. 20. Since opening, business has been good, says store manager Bijen Patel. It makes sense to locate the first U.S. store here. According to the 2010 U.S. census, some 15.3% of Kendall Park's population is Asian Indian, and across the street in Franklin Park,  that number is 25.7%.

An international chain,Bikanervala started out in the 1950s making sweets, but has since branched out to snacks and restaurants. The company also opened a boutique hotel in Hyderabad, India.

The restaurant is 100% vegetarian and features mostly North Indian food, with South Indian and Chinese offerings as well. While most of the chain's locations are in India, the company also has stores in New Zealand, Dubai, Nepal and Singapore. Bikanervala plans to open more stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Store manager Bijen Patel

Bikanervala USA does have a website, but "we're still building it," Patel says. It doesn't yet have online ordering, because he wanted first to focus on opening the store and get that running well.

Much of its traffic are immigrants who grew up with the brand in India. "We also get a lot of Americans,"  says Patel, who moved to the U.S. in 1989, first living in north Jersey before moving to Spotswood.

The core of Bikanervala: sweets

To celebrate its opening, the store is running a special on mixed sweets at $12.99 a pound. Other than that, the store hasn't done a lot of promotion or advertising. The best advertising, along this busy road, is when there are a lot of cars in the parking lot.

"When people see the parking lot is full, they know it's something good," Patel says.

Gas Price Update: 

Gasoline prices have reverted to their old order. Exxon is now the most expensive with Raceway and Valero being the least expensive. Prices have not gone back to where they were before Hurricane Harvey, but they have eased a little. Raceway and the Valero on Route 27 North are both at $2.639/gallon, while both BP stations and Sunoco selling regular-grade gas at $2.699.  The price at Exxon is $2.799/gallon.

Valero on Route 27 South

Let me know what's going on in your business on Route 27 between Finnegan's Lane and Route 518. Email me at lkiesche@gmail.com

Liz Kiesche
Liz, a business journalist, formerly worked for Bloomberg News in Princeton and New York.

What's on the Menu: Restaurant Census

When I first moved into this area, it seemed as if each strip mall had a Chinese restaurant, a pizza place and a dry cleaners. Having now stopped at each strip mall and listed exactly what's in each strip mall, that observation no longer holds (if it ever was true). It's more likely that each strip mall has an Indian restaurant.  Indian restaurants now outnumber pizza places in this 3.4-mile stretch of road.

Influx from India

There are eight Indian restaurants, two of which are solely vegetarian-- Udipi Cafe and Banglore Express. One Indian restaurant, Supreme Kabab & Curry House, also features Pakistani food. Meanwhile, Spice Rack describes its cuisine as Indian fusion, adding Thai and Chinese to its menu. Two Indian restaurants use halal meats -- Khan Baba Halal Meat & Grill and Supreme Kabab & Curry House.

By contrast, there are seven Italian/pizza restaurants, ranging from the long-time local establishments of DuSals and Joe's Italian Restaurant & Deli, to national pizza chains Domino's and Papa John's. Included in the count is another chain, Pie Five, that's opening a store at the corner of Finnegans Lane.

Bring Your Own

Almost all eat-in restaurants are "bring your own," bottle, that is. Except I don't think you can "bring your own" into IHOP.  Only one restaurant sells alcoholic drinks -- Shogun 27. What's missing is the neighborhood bar & grill.  At one time that had been filled by Chauncey's Pub, which was torn down in 2009. (More on that in a later edition.)  With the Society Hill condos and townhouses nearby, as well as four large apartment complexes on Route 27 and other housing developments, the area could certainly support a bar-and-grill type restaurant. It's likely nearby residents will object to a bar in their neighborhood, though. 

The township has approved a plan to build a restaurant and retail space on the site of the old Chauncey's, but it's unknown whether that restaurant will have a liquor license. (I'm looking into that.)

So I've discussed the Indian restaurants and mentioned the Italian/pizza places in the area. What about Chinese restaurants? There are three Chinese restaurants -- Chinese Wok, Kam Luang Kitchen and Lili's Oriental Restaurant.  Make it four if you include Spice Rack. The first two are basically takeout places that have a few tables, but Lili's and Spice Rack are full sit-down restaurants. 

IHOP, Confectionately Yours and Franklin Park Diner all fit into the casual, sit-down category. Generally, they're standard American fare. Confectionately Yours has some themed nights, such as Tex-Mex, German and Hungarian, in addition to their Prime Rib and Fish Fry nights.

Yet there are lots of different ethnic cuisines represented by a restaurant or two in the area -- Vietnamese, Mexican,Thai, sushi, Pakistani, Lebanese, Filipino, Afghan and soul food. The area's one Caribbean restaurant has closed.

Online Orders

Of the 38 restaurants surveyed, fifteen take orders through their own website or through such services as GrubHub and EatStreet. Pizza seems to be your best bet if you want to order from your PC or smartphone.  All of them seem to accept some form of online ordering. Domino's and Papa John's have mobile ordering and are well-known for their use of technology.

Indian restaurants are also likely to embrace technology for the ordering process. Five of them take online orders. So far, you can't order sushi online from the Route 27 Franklin Park/Kendall Park establishments.

We'll see what comes next to this stretch of Route 27. Diversity is certainly not lacking.

Stein Mart Update: 

Oct. 21 will be the last day Stein Mart is open. The store still has a lot of merchandise. Discounts range from 10% to 50%, maybe up to 70% on a few items.