Lilikoi set up shop recently in a Broad Street storefront in the Franklin Commons strip mall. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
This edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn takes a spin around Shrewsbury and finds — no surprise — that this retail-centric borough has no shortage of stores coming and going.
Vanilla Sky is preparing a store in the Grove West. Below, Chrissy Valerio of the Bar Method. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
• Lilikoi, a retailer of bikinis and other women’s beachwear, opened recently in the Franklin Commons strip mall at 703 Broad Street (Route 35) opposite the Shrewsbury Borough School.
The business was created by Sam Abruzzo, an Oceanport native who previously owned a boutique in Deal. Among Lilikoi’s brands are Frankie’s Bikinis and L Space.
• Mangia Brick Oven Pizza opened last week in the Broad Street shopping center anchored by Trader Joe’s and Staples.
The location is the third for Mangia, which has restaurants in Toms River and Brick, according to its website.
• Women’s clothing retailer Vanilla Sky is building a store in the Grove West. The location would be the fifth full-time store in the privately owned New York-based chain; a sixth store is open summer-only in Deal.
Chris Cole, partner in the site-owning Metrovation, tells Churn the store is expected to open by August 16.
• Just across the highway, Vineyard Vines, a self-described seller of “preppie” clothing for children and adults that evokes the “good life” feel of Martha’s Vineyard, is building a store in the Grove. It should open on or about September 15, says Cole.
• Chrissy Valerio recently doubled the size of her eight-year-old Bar Method workout facility in the office complex at 170 Patterson Avenue, taking over space previously held by a medical business. With 3,000 square feet, she now has two workout studios, with separate locker rooms, as well as a small retail area and a children’s playroom, under one roof.
If her last name sounds familiar, Chrissy is married to Kevin Valerio, who owns the Strollo’s Lighthouse in Red Bank.
