Business & Tech
New Businesses Flocking To Westwood
The trend of more vacancies each month has clearly passed, as evident by the number of news shops that have opened since last year.
A flock of new businesses has been snatching up vacant space in downtown Westwood, starkly reversing a five year trend of "For Rent" signs appearing with more frequency in shuttered shop windows.
Numerous new businesses have opened in downtown Westwood since fall, including shops like and , and restaurants ranging from the self-serve frozen yogurt of to the Mediterranean cuisine of .
"The number of vacant stores is no longer increasing," Richard Heck, of, said. "They're being occupied one at a time."
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Silvana Romano, the owner of Madison Boutique, previously ran another store in Westwood and after nine years of working in the fashion industry in Manhattan.
"I love Westwood and I wanted to come back," Romano said.
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Romano credited the Westwood Chamber of Commerce for making the borough attractive to small business owners. The Chamber holds many events each year, including the recent the upcoming "Spring Fling" sidewalk sale May 19 and the annual June 3.
Heck said the borough's layout and careful attention to zoning and planning make it attractive to shoppers because there is plenty of public transportation and parking available, but not as much traffic as some other towns in Bergen County.
"Westwood is probably one of the better laid-out and planned towns for a downtown retail district," Heck said.
The area around Old Hook Road has been slower to recover, but Heck said he expects the opening of next year to make a difference.
"The hospital coming in is going to strengthen the situation," Heck said. "Old Hook Road has really suffered with the hospital being closed."
There have been some signs of recovery. In February, the Planning Board approved a plan from Lipkin Properties to renovate 345 Old Hook Road as new medical offices. More recently, Dr. Grace Chin on Kinderkamack Road. Rainbow Academy, a small chain of daycare centers, is also on Kinderkamack Road soon.
Brenda Febbo is one of the owners of the new Rainbow Academy.
"Westwood is a tight-knit community," Febbo said. "There's a downtown. There's a heart."
Mayor John Birkner said the existing businesses in Westwood make it a shopping destination and have helped attract new faces.
"People really enjoy being here because of the diverse mix of shops and restaurants we have," Birkner said after cutting a ribbon at last week.
