By Judy O’Gorman Alvarez
RED BANK – Sickles Market, the 100-plus year old farm market will open a second location on the West side of Red Bank in late 2017.
The 8,000-square-foot planned building will be on the site of the former Anderson Moving and Storage building on Bridge Avenue that has been empty for decades.
The new market will be an important part of the gentrification of Red Bank’s West side.
Sickles is leasing the location from Metrovation and working with the architecture firm Richardson Smith Architects.
“We feel we have a strong brand in the area,” said Bob Sickles, owner of Sickles Market, which started more than 100 years ago.
The new Sickles Market will have similar inventory in both stores. A new addition to the fare – in both Red Bank and Little Silver locations – will be seafood.
“It will all be devoted to food,” says Sickles. With little room for the gift and garden centers now found at the Little Silver market, a
possible pop-up garden center may be added.
The sprawling ground floor will house produce, bakery, seafood and specialty foods and limited seating, while upstairs floor will have office space. An important element will be 155 parking spaces. “Parking is key in Red Bank,” Sickles said.
“The future for us is focused on perishables in the food area,” he said. “Cheese in particular is our strong suit; charcuterie is something we’re going to take even further” in the Red Bank location.
What this will mean for Red Bank is a continued gentrification of Red Bank and the Westside in particular. “And I imagine at least 40 or 50 jobs will be added” he said.
Sickles thinks a market like this will allow shoppers a convenient place for produce, gourmet foods and now seafood, with access to the bridges leading to Middletown and River Plaza, in addition to the Red Bank train station.
Sickles said the move to the Red Bank location is almost fitting as his grandfather once had a store in Red Bank for a time in the early 1900s. Also, Sickles said, he knew the Anderson children while growing up.
“We realize we’re in the midst of suburbia,” and Red Bank is a semi-urban area. “We’re going to need nice urban places for people to live and save green space area.”
