Photos
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The owner and staff of Stuff mark the store's grand opening on Saturday. Credits: Kelly Carroll
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BCB Bank staff members, village officials and representatives of the South Orange Village Center Alliance prepare to cut the ribbon during Saturday's ceremony. Credits: Kelly Carroll
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The owners and staff of Valley Portuguese BBQ celebrate their grand opening with village and South Orange Village Alliance officials. Credits: Kelly Carroll
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Staff members of Spa Lady Next Door prepare to cut the ribbon at Saturday's grand opening, joined by village officials and representatives of the Village Center Alliance. Credits: Kelly Carroll
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The owner of Love & Yogurt gets some assistance from his children at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, which included officials from South Orange and the Village Center Alliance. Credits: Kelly Carroll
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The owner of Kimaya Kama gets assistance from Village President Alex Torpey in a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday. Credits: Kelly Carroll
Six South Orange Businesses Celebrate Grand Openings
Monday, September 17, 2012 • 10:52am
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – Six businesses celebrated their grand opening on Saturday, coordinated by the South Orange Village Center Alliance.
BCB Bank, Valley Portuguese BBQ, Spa Lady Next Door, Love and Yogurt, Stuff Village Mercantile and Kimaya Kama all conducted ribbon-cutting ceremonies announcing they were officially open.
The Saturday ribbon cuttings were the most that the South Orange Village Center Alliance has ever held at once, according to Executive Director Carole Anzalone-Newman.
“Since we have so many new businesses in town, we thought it was important to do grand openings to allow the public to know and celebrate that we have so many new businesses,” Anzalone-Newman said.
The organization expects to have three or more grand openings soon, she said.
The group is also optimistic about having other events to support business and increase cooperative marketing, Chairman Matt Glass said.
“We want to promote local merchants working together,” Glass said.
According to Glass, the Alliance encourages the idea that businesses run by residents’ neighbors are more appealing than big-box retailers.
The South Orange Village Center Alliance also is working on a new brand for the town and organization and building a new website, according to Anzalone-Newman.
Glass said the group wants to make South Orange a center for arts, entertainment, food and retail.
“We want South Orange to be the whole package,” said Anzalone-Newman.
The organization is planning launch event for the new website and the new vision of the village in late October.
The reporter is participating in a hyperlocal journalism partnership between The Alternative Press and Seton Hall University's Department of Communication & The Arts.
