Calling All Local Businesses: Claim Your Listing

Expand your presence online and find new ways to reach new customers!

Do you want to enhance your presence online this year and reach new customers for your local business? Well, Patch is here to help—and we can offer you a few perks for taking the time to connect with your community online. Every local business has a space on Patch. We've already done the legwork to create it for you. If you haven't seen it, we'd be happy to show it to you. If you claim it, you have more control over how your business is presented online. Do you have a Facebook page, a Twitter account or a Foursquare mayorship? If not, we can show you how to create them. If you do, we can link to them through your business listing. Your listing gives your business a voice on Patch. And, if you're an active user, your friends, neighbors and …

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Urban Table Opens With 'Something for Everyone'

New restaurant replaces 'Ciao,' offers diverse menu and 'urban' setting.

If the new Urban Table restaurant just opened at Riverwalk Village Center in Basking Ridge looks familiar, you may have seen it on a trip to Morristown. The decor is similar — although not identical — but the menu is the same, including not only an extensive burger area, but also a selection of sushi, Mexican specialities and salads. This Urban Table is the second among Harvest Restaurants' list of restaurants in Somerset, Morris and Union counties, including 3West Restaurant, which is next door to the new eatery off Martinsville Road. Harvest Restaurants also owned Ciao Restaurant, an Italian restaurant that had occupied the space that now has been extensively renovated and transformed into Urban Table. Some of the restaurant's Morristown…

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Natural Foods Market Arrives in Basking Ridge

New store at 25 Mountainview Blvd. in Basking Ridge offers organic produce and more products to bring 'wellness' into shoppers' lives.

Basking Ridge residents not only have a new source for buying natural foods, but a place where they can become part of a community that supports people seeking to "incorporate wellness in their lives," according to the owner of the latest branch of Dean's Natural Food Market, Dean Nelson. "A year ago, I had never even heard of Basking Ridge," Nelson said, but when the owner of the 100 Marketplace wanted to add a natural foods store to the complex and invited Nelson to take a look, he eagerly agreed to venture into new territory. The Basking Ridge market is the third location in New Jersey. Nelson had opened the first of two stores 16 years ago, and built a strong customer base in the South Jersey locations of Ocean Township and Shrewsbury…

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Bernards Chamber Seeks Volunteers for 'Restore the Shore' Project

Group will head down the shore to pitch in on Saturday.

After already loading up and sending three tractor trailors of supplies to shore relief sites, the Bernards Township Regional Chamber of Commerce (BTCC) is hosting another project, Restore the Shore, and is seeking help for this Saturday. The Chamber Volunteer Team will head to Pompamora Park Beach in Highlands, near Sandy Hook to be part of a community clean up effort, said Al LiCata, chamber president. Volunteers will help clean up parts of Pompamora Park Beach's most damaged areas, including the beach and homes, he said. Volunteers will be asked to work from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. "The goal is to provide 50 volunteers to assist this hard-hit community," LiCata said. Those wishing to volunteer are asked to sign up with the Chamber either …

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Great Escape

Holiday Boutique Offers Unique Gifts at Wagner Farm

Shop opening Friday offers local and handcrafted items.

Sometimes there's just not enough days to go around, but every week we'll give you an idea of something to do to relax, spend time with family and just take some time for yourself. And at this time of the year, many people are stressing over finding just the right gift for someone special—and if you've been pondering such a purchase, stop by the Wagner Farm Arboretum Holiday Boutique. Original, one of a kind, hand-made and organic items offered for sale include jewelry, paintings by local artists, framed and/or matted photographs, stationery, local honey, home madechocolates, jams and preserves, beautifully crafted, one of a kind pottery, holiday gift items and a wideselection of other household decorative art work. Located in the Wagner …

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Options for Shopping Close to Home on Black Friday

Some local businesses — and thinking outside of the box — can result in some fruitful trips for gifts on Friday without big store traffic and lines.

Basking Ridge's downtown and shopping centers most certainly won't be as crowded as malls or "big box" stores on Black Friday. But for those who want to skip the stress, there are places to shop in the township and nearby communities such as Bernardsville. Some of the shops even are offering discounts before the holiday, or in conjunction with the upcoming Small Business Saturday promotion being offered nationwide for American Express customers. Apogee, at 52 S. Finley Ave. in downtown Basking Ridge, is offering a pre-holiday sale through Nov. 26, and also is part of the Small Business promotion, said Sara Faber, a shop employee. Faber said Apogee not only draws local shoppers, but also those who are looking for certain brands — such as …

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Area Holiday Hiring Appears Limited

Economy has taken its toll on seasonal jobs, according to many local business owners.

With high unemployment rates and economic turmoil dominating news headlines, it is no secret that jobs have been hard to come by for the unemployed. For those looking to earn some extra cash in retail over the holidays, the outlook does not look much more promising than it has for the rest of the year throughout Somerset County. At a time of the year when some businesses would normally be looking to bring in employees to keep up with customer demand, many are not generating enough business to warrant paying for extra employee hours. One such case is Big Bang Music Shop. Located in Hillsborough, the musical instrument retailer has not yet seen a spike in holiday-related business, said manager Pete Westervelt. “Our level of business hasn’t …

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Business News

Three New Businesses at The Hills' Village Center

Two new tenants moved in early this fall, while studio for fitness training for women expected to open in January.

Two new tenants, a preschool and a learning center, recently moved into the Highlands Village Center in The Hills, and a fitness training center for women is anticipated to open around January, Coldwell Banker Commercial Feist & Feist Realty Corp. has announced. Tiny Turtle Academy and Kumon Learning Center both already opened early this fall, said Peter Wisniewski, executive vice president of the commercial realty corp. in Basking Ridge, which is the leasing agent for available spaces at the Highlands Village at Liberty Corner. The lease for Get in Shape for Women, a national franchise, has been finalized, and that fitness training center is expected to move in around the beginning of 2012, Wisniewski said on Friday. The 60,000 square …

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Bites Nearby

Brush's Deli: Served with A Dab of History and Humor on Rye

For more than 60 years, locals and those passing through have stopped by for breakfast, lunch, a snack and conversation.

Each week, Patch picks a great restaurant either in town or nearby that is worth checking out. Here's this week's choice, a longtime occupant of downtown Basking Ridge. Brush's Deli 35 S. Finley Ave., Basking Ridge Phone: 908-766-0060 When you walk in and peer behind the dessert-laden counter near the coffee and register at Brush's Deli, you'll see a few vintage photos. There's an old sepia-toned photo of the building as it looked in the 1880s, back then a business even before the Brush brothers opened a grocery store at the location around 1945. A framed picture shows the exterior as it was right after that giant snowstorm in the winter of 1995-96. With a little prodding, Brush's current, third-generation owner — Tim Brush — will talk to …

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Suzanne Burry

5:05 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012

I worked there in 1993 (ish) ... time flies but Brush's Deli does not look like it has changed a bit. What a wonderful place it was and still is. I would LOVE it if they would move here where I am so I could still be a part of. I am so happy they are still in business ... Taylor ham, egg and cheese ... my favorite !   more ›