Home and Garden Specialty Shop Finds a Niche in Downtown Barnegat

As a banker, Anne Hunt spent the last decade advising others on how to open and run their businesses. Finally, she said, she decided to take her own advice.

The Bayville resident opened Cedar Creek Trading Company, featuring home and garden décor, in April at 349 South Main St. in Barnegat Township. The shop carries gifts, jewelry and homewares that take their cue from the sea.

“Everything is shore-inspired,” said Hunt. “If you love the shore, everything is light and blue and turquoise. Think of Key West.”

Hunt’s signature item is a butterfly bench, in both adult and child sizes. Another unique line of items is Haitian metal art.

“They are hand-made, no tools,” she said. “We buy directly from the artist in Haiti. They are for inside or outside, mostly sea-themed 2-and-a-half to 3-feet wall hangings.”

The shop also features items from local artists, such as stained glass and glass jewelry. A young girl from Bayville provides oil paintings of fish.

“I have more people coming all the time,” said Hunt. “There’s a lot of talent around here.”

However, Hunt said her store is not a gallery; her items are meant to be affordable. In her 750-square-foot shop, there is something for every price range, from giftware to decorations to cards.

The store had been vacant for awhile, and Hunt felt the demographics were good for a shop of her type. The location also was good, she said, right at the corner at a traffic light, giving drivers and their passengers a chance to gaze through the store window at the beautiful and interesting items that fill the storefront.

Hunt said there are still too many empty storefronts in downtown, and she hopes to see the area come back to life. A weekly farmers market has helped.

“There are not too many walking districts in the area,” she said. “It’s nice. They can walk, go into stores and go get ice cream.”

As for her store, which she operates with the help of her mother and sister-in-law, she hopes to promote more local art in the future.

“If you like to step off a plane in Florida in January and see flowers – that’s what the store is like,” she said. “It’s bright. It’s happy.”

Cedar Creek Trading Company is open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 609-698-6620.