New businesses including both a Portuguese and Indian restaurant, a music café and a bagel shop that draws standing room only crowds on a routine day are only some of the new businesses that have opened in the Borough of Highlands since Carolyn Broullon became Mayor four years ago.
Add to that the opening of the new borough hall which had been on the agenda amid rising costs and changes for years and construction of new apartments on a long empty lot on Bay Avenue have enlivened not only the entire community but the amount of visitors who come into the borough, visit their shops, try out new restaurants, and come back again to attend any of the numerous activities and events staged by the active Highlands Business Partnership.
“Sometimes, people just need a bit of encouragement to open their businesses in the borough, “ the Mayor said, when asked why some 20 establishments have opened their doors since she has been mayor. “Once they see the potential in the borough, the charm, beauty and history of Highlands, and the welcoming attitude of the residents, they want to stay.” As a businesswoman and property owner who fell in love with the borough when she first arrived, she added, “It doesn’t take anyone long to realize our location is excellent for businesses that cater to the needs of the people and that they are welcome here.”
Stores that were empty for decades, or since Hurricane Sandy have changed the appearance of a main street where for several years many businesses were closed and buildings left unkempt. Each of the new businesses or reopening older buildings and restoring formerly successful businesses not only make the business district more inviting, but also add considerably to the income from taxes without adding any costs for education in the regional school district.
It took Broullon most of her first year in office to conduct her own studies and listen to the residents on what they felt the borough needed most. She then decided on a variety of paths of both introducing new businesses to the borough and enticing older businesses to reopen after Sandy so could go about accomplishing that mission.
But by 2021, food establishments like Franny’s Pizza and the Sandbox at the Sea Streak ferry terminal in Waterwitch found success would follow their openings. Allegra Law took over an attorney’s practice on Route 36, and Wolf Claw Ceramics and Core 9 Catch Jujitsu both decided Highlands would be the perfect place to open their unique establishments.
Gert’s re-opened in 2021 after having been closed since Sandy and Gianna’s also opened that year. The following year Et al moved to the old Scuba on Shore and both U.N.Owens Music Cafe, and the Farmacie, opened by Rumson’s French Market also decided Highlands was the best place for their new businesses.
When the ever-popular Girl’s Café closed in 2024 when the Hartsgrove sisters decided to retire or take life a little easier, the Highlands Café with it homemade ice creams and other delicacies continued to fill the bill for breakfast and lunch. Bistro Iberia, Saltwater Social, which had also been empty since Sandy and construction of the Gipper Way Apartments got underway on the lot that had been empty for 40 years and the street behind it was created and named for Gipper O’Neil, a beloved longtime resident and father of a former mayor.
During the pasts year, it’s been busy and unique for Bay Avenue as the borough became one of the first in the Bayshore to open a cannabis business after the Honorable Plant met all the stiff specifications of both the state and the borough and opened in another building that had been closed since Sandy. The Honorable Plant was welcomed in the borough even before the additional money it brings in started , because of its added vivid exterior murals, in a shore related theme, cleanliness and ample parking for the shop run by one of the most respected leaders in the cannabis field.
Gems opened in the former Katz Confectionery, one family business following another, and was an immediate hit from early morning to mid-afternoon every day of the week. Most recently Not 2 Shabby opened its much needed and most unusual thrift shop where the Farmacie had been and Sea & Sand brought a highly reputable Indian restaurant to another site which had been vacant for 25 years.
“There’s no doubt about it,” Broullon said when asked about all the new businesses in town. “People know a good thing when they see it, business owners want to be profitable, but also be a part of a community, and all of these different business owners cold see the value of having their establishments in a borough that appreciates quality with a home-town feeling.”
You can also Find ViniVidiScripto on the Following Platforms …
business
