The Alternative Press

MADISON, NJ - The line stretched out the door of the bank where women were registering and picking up their goody bags for last night’s Ladies’ Night Out in Madison.

Organizers were expecting more than 100 participants for the evening, which offered the opportunity to visit merchants, receive discounts and collect raffle tickets for a drawing at the end of the night.

“We’re very excited for tonight’s turnout,” said Karen Meyer, executive director of the Madison Chamber of Commerce. The event was the culmination of three months of planning and promotion, including a banner on the train trestle at Waverly Place.

More than 30 businesses in the downtown opened their doors. Their space was marked with hot pink balloons, and a map showed visitors where to find them.

As women of all ages entered Provident Bank, wine connoisseur Gary Fisch greeted them and offered a sampling of wares from his store, Gary’s Wine & Marketplace on Main Street. Women could mingle, munch on cheese and crackers and view the two large gift baskets to be raffled off.

At New Leaf Consignment on Park Avenue, shoppers were browsing through an array of gently-used clothing, belts, handbags and jewelry. Owner Arleen J. Gaetani said her store was offering special discounts for shoppers that evening.

Several women said they were regulars at the shop and praised the personalized service they received from a knowledgeable staff.

“They’re lovely,” said Anne Scarcella of Madison. “They’ll help outfit you from head to toe.”

Dianne Recchia of Whippany, a former Mrs. New Jersey, said she has been visiting the shop since it opened in 1994.

At the family salon next door, Hair We Are, owner Louisa DeRose was setting up the table where the gift baskets, each valued at $700, were to be raffled off.

She said her full-service salon has eight operators and is open seven days a week. The business opened a year and a half ago.

Rocco’s Tuscany Bar & Grill on Cook Plaza was offering $6 basil berry martinis at its newly redesigned bar.

Gino Iossa, chef and manager, said his Northern Italian restaurant has served area families for generations and for a second year, has won awards for best pizza, best restaurant and best entertainment in The Daily Record’s Readers Choice Awards for Madison.

His father, who started the business and has been in business for 51 years, was on hand to greet and mingle with visitors.

At San Francisco, a women’s clothing boutique on Green Village Road, co-owner Bea Henderson reported, “We’ve had quite a bit of foot traffic. They’re coming around the corner to our shop.”

She said the evening had been fun for customers who had run into old friends and had given the owners a chance to show off their newly remodeled space.

Henderson’s daughter, Reilly Urban, recently joined the business, which has been in its current location for 30 years.

Urban summed up the mother-daughter team’s philosophy of merchandising: “We wear what we buy because we love it.”