The State of Church Street

Church Street has kept hyper-local food bloggers very busy over the past few months.  Closings, re-openings, more closings, and even a Kitchen Nightmare.  So what is the current state of Church Street?

Over the years I’ve done plenty of shopping, sipped countless cups of coffee, and eaten many meals on Church Street.  And despite recent ups and downs, Church Street feels good right now.  Tapas, outdoor music, free movies, macaroons, and great wine!

According to Sharon Sevrens, proprietor of Amanti Vino, “Our business is continuing to grow.  Many people come out on Saturdays and visit our tasting bar.  Church Street is a ton of fun!” 

Cheryl and Greg Spinelli, eight-year veterans of the Church Street food scene, currently operate Church Street Catering, in addition to the thriving tapas restaurant, Tapastry. 

According to Greg, “Church Street has never looked better! Lots of shiny new businesses have opened in the past year or so (including our new venture).”

So what direction is Church Street heading in?

One issue on the minds of Church Street merchants is the South Park Street development project.  As usual, timing is everything. 

“A lot of local business owners, myself included, are supportive of the South Park St. project, but are concerned about the timing since roadwork has been pushed back to the fourth quarter,” says Sevrens.  The recent closures there for and infrastructure upgrades disrupt traffic in the area.

If construction interferes with the ease of holiday shopping, merchants may encounter similar hardships to those in Upper Montclair Plaza as a result of the parking lot construction project that took months longer than expected.

But, according to Mayor Jerry Fried,  “The work is likely to be delayed [only] a month from the original completion date, so it should now be finished in November.” He says a meeting is scheduled to keep businesses apprised of construction and parking issues. "We're working through some issues on the project," he adds "but I've talked with the Township Manager, Engineer and head of the Business Improvement District about having a 'staging plan' for the construction to facilitate parking and traffic disruptions."

Tom Lonergan, Executive Director of the Montclair Center Business Improvement District, says,  “The BID will not accept any construction after November 1, or any activity that makes shopping difficult during the holiday season.” 

In the meantime, merchants are always looking at ways to encourage more traffic to the unique street.

Sevrens suggests discussing the possibility of closing access to cars on weekends, adding movable planters and benches.

As romantic as that sounds, it’s not that easy.  Greg Spinelli describes closing Church Street as a “thorny issue due to the legitimate competing needs of the various business and residential properties.” But adds, “there really should be a simple way to close the street during the summer for a few hours on Friday and Saturday nights as well as Sunday afternoons.”

However, not all merchants feel that closing off Church Street to cars would be beneficial.   

Jeff Billington, co-owner of Accents with Flowers, says, “People like to drive by and see the restaurants to see what’s going on before they decide to park.  So I think closing would just be crazy. In my thirteen years of being here, I’ve experienced losses when the street is closed.”

Mayor Fried considers the closing an interesting idea, but “it will be important to make sure that the business owners on the north side of Church Street will be able to get their deliveries.”

Still, business owners on both sides of the street fear losses from even a temporary closure.

Lonergan weighs in, “This has been a longstanding debate for Church Street merchants and restaurateurs.  In general, the BID sees many good reasons to close off the street in the evenings from late spring to early fall,” in spite of perceived loss of traffic and having to hire off duty police officers to close the street.