Strawberry Fields Celebrates Grand Opening

Strawberry Fields, a new self-serve yogurt store in Maplewood Village, commemorated its opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday morning. The store is giving locals another cool way to get through the rest of the summer and beyond.

The business, which is located at 147B Maplewood Avenue, officially opened on August 11. Joining owners Robert and Robin Mercadante and Garry and Ann Harris on the sunny day were Maplewood Township Committee member Marlon K. Brownlee; Marvin Clawson of Clawson Architects; Rene Clawson, President of the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce; and Lorraine Labonne-Storch, Board member of the Maplewood Village Alliance.

“Anytime another business opens, it’s the birth of something new,” said Brownlee. “With the economy being challenging, I think it’s heartwarming and a statement about Maplewood that they would open something here. It’s important that the community come out to support them.” The public did just that, with several parents, teens and youngsters bustling in and out of the shop to sample their array of yogurts.

Strawberry Fields isn’t Robert or Garry’s first business. Both men are entrepreneurs. Robert works in real estate (owning several multi-resident buildings) and Garry runs an organic beverage company called Crescent Beverage. The gentlemen and their wives decided to open the yogurt shop six months ago. The initial suggestion came from Robin. Everyone else agreed that the business could be a success.

“We thought the idea of self serve was great,” said Robert. “The concept came from the West coast. It becomes an event when people can come in and get yogurt and add their own toppings. I think we’ll do well in the winter too.”

Their Maplewood location is the first of seven businesses they plan to open. Strawberry Fields shops will open in New Providence, Morristown, Mendham and Bergen County within the next six months.

“We felt the whole country was going toward health,” said Garry. “So we wanted to do something that was good for you. Everyone is being healthier these days.” To that end, their yogurts are non-fat, gluten free and kosher certified yogurt. The flavors range from coffee, cookies & cream, chocolate, and cheesecake, to mango, plain tart, vanilla, and peanut butter. With no shortage of sprinkles, customers can top their yogurt with goodies such as chocolate sprinkles, oreo cookies, graham crackers, gummi bears, cap ‘n crunch cereal, shredded coconut, or M&M candies.

Strawberry Fields’ hours of operation are Sunday - Thursday 11am - 10pm, Friday and Saturday 11am - 11pm. For more information, call Phone: 973-763-3313.