FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Main Street New Jersey Reminds Residents of Remaining New Jersey 350 Pop-Up Stores

Temporary Stores Continue to Showcase throughout the State



TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III today reminded residents that NJ 350 Pop-Up Stores will continue to make appearances throughout the state to honor and celebrate New Jersey’s 350th Anniversary. The next NJ350 Pop-Up Store will “pop-up” at 811 Main Street  in Boonton and will be one of only sixteen temporary store sites that have been chosen in 14 communities during 2014.  This first-of-its-kind unique statewide program of temporary stores will travel over 1,000 miles during NJ’s 350th anniversary year. 

More than 350 independent businesses will be represented within the temporary locations. Stores sell items representing Jerseyana (made in New Jersey items or reflecting New Jersey), NJ350 branded merchandise (hats, shirts, and more) and unique offerings from local businesses that vary in each host community. 

“We are pleased to play a role in making New Jersey’s 350th anniversary a year-long celebration with the NJ350 Pop-Up Stores,” said Commissioner Constable. “We encourage you to visit one of the locations and support the local businesses that participate in this event.”

After Boonton the NJ350 Pop-Up Store will continue its summer tour in Lawrenceville (June 13-17), Hammonton (June 27-29), Westfield (July 9-13) and Somerville (July 22-26). The remaining stores will be hosted in Mount Holly, Atlantic City, Montclair, Bridgeton, South Orange and Trenton.

“It is our hope the NJ 350 Pop-Up stores will raise awareness of the rich history, character, and commerce in our traditional towns all over the state,” said Jef Buehler, State Coordinator of the Main Street New Jersey and Improvement District Programs at the DCA. “We also want to show that a vacant storefront can have retail success, hopefully inspiring small businesses to fill that space after each pop-up store moves to the next location around the state.”

The NJ350 Pop-Up Store project is made possible by Main Street New Jersey, the NJ Department of Community Affairs and the NJ Historical Commission, and is sponsored by vend, SnapRetail, IKEA, Friends of NJ State Museum, RetailMinded, Storesigns.com, ITO Design, Alignable, and the NJ State Museum. Promotional partners for this year-long program include Independent We Stand, Be A Localist (BALLE) and the American Independent Business Alliance.

Main Street New Jersey is a comprehensive revitalization program that promotes the historic and economic redevelopment of traditional business districts in New Jersey. The program builds on the Main Street Approach™ that was developed by the National Trust’s National Main Street Center in 1980 to assist downtown revitalization efforts nationwide. Communities participating in Main Street New Jersey receive valuable technical support and training to assist in improving their Main Streets. The program employs a four-point approach that focuses on:

 

  • Building a strong, local Main Street organization that is well-represented and funded by stakeholders such as residents, merchants, civic groups, and bankers;
  • Restructuring the district’s economics by engaging in such activities as recruiting new businesses, converting unused space for new uses, and sharpening the competitiveness of merchants;
  • Enhancing the visual appearance, attractiveness and traffic management of the business district; and
  • Promoting the district through festivals, retail events and marketing campaign to encourage consumer traffic.

 

For more information, visit NJ350ShopLocal on Facebook and Twitter, or on the web at http://officialnj350.com/category/shop-nj350/.

For more information regarding Main Street New Jersey, log on to www.mainstreetnewjersey.com.