“Just remember, when you sing for your supper, the man on the other side of the soup is working for a song.” – Biff Rose
Many moons ago, at the open mic night at Tierney’s Tavern, I met a man named John Finnegan. I’ll resist the temptation to continue with a limerick and tell you about him as best I can.
I was a stranger in Montclair at the time and only had a guitar to keep me company. I performed a Mexican song called La Malagueña. I performed it clumsily, but Finnegan enjoyed it. As poorly as I had played, he heard my potential, introduced himself, and told me what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong. His penchant for constructive criticism and advice was a lifelong practice.
Church Street now rhymes. Under construction at 5 Church Street, the space that was formerly Church Street Opticians, is OSKA, a high-end women’s clothing boutique with roots in Munich. And it’s right next to … Tosca. Continue Reading
It almost goes without saying that Raymond’s, with its colorful seltzer bottles and famous French toast, is the north star of dining on Montclair’s Church Street. Even restauranteur Greg Spinelli, who’s been competing under various brands from 12 Church Street for the past seven years, acknowledges Raymond’s dominance. “It’s a self-perpetuating momentum,” says Spinelli, whose latest entrant is the tapas restaurant Tapastry. “They did a fabulous job. A lot of people wait. In the rain.”
Tonight, (7/28) Jo-Med Contracting Corp., the contractor responsible for improvements to Montclair’s water and sanitary sewer systems, will be making a tie-in of the new water main on Church Street and/or South Park Street. For residents of the Siena and other neighboring buildings, this work may involve a temporary interruption to water service, for approximately two hours, occurring sometime between the hours of midnight at 2 a.m.
Residents should flush their water systems once service has resumed to ensure that water quality is restored. Additional notifications regarding utility disruptions associated with this project will be posted prior to commencement of construction activities. Should residents encounter any problems associated with these activities, contact field inspector, Steve at 201-841-2119 or the design engineer, Joe Weaver at 973-398-1776 x2310 for assistance.
Yesterday’s cool temperatures didn’t deter the steady stream of shoppers to Church Street for the Annual Montclair Center Sidewalk Sale, but the periodic drizzle and misty air kept most of the shopkeepers inside. A red-and-white tent kept the scene festive. And after this past week’s heat, the weather was downright refreshing.
The empty space left behind when Terra Tea moved from Church Street to the Montclair library won’t be vacant for long, it seems. Reader Chris Landers sent this photo — a sign of tasty things to come.
Despite some scattered showers, Church Street was alive with music and al fresco dining yesterday. Parents Who Rock performed as part of a toast to teachers in support of the Montclair Schools.
UPDATE: readers have reported that the tree in question came down over the weekend. The point still applies, however. Why was it up so long?
This festively lit tree on Church Street in Montclair made sense back in December, right at the beginning of Christmas season when we took the picture, but now that it’s March, people are questioning it — not because it may have overstayed its holiday welcome, but from a cost perspective.
A reader who works on South Fullerton Avenue wondered about the fiscal sense of continuing to light the holiday tree into these late winter weeks when the town is so strapped for money. He wrote to Baristanet:
I’m no CPA, but I have to imagine that having this tree turned on 24 hrs a day since early December has to be bad business for the town. Montclair appears to be a very liberal, somewhat eco-friendly (or at least it’s residents) and progressive municipality. However having a gigantic tree with thousands of lights constantly on seems to go against the grain for this town.
With recent news that Montclair is cutting its summer fireworks budget and doing away with First Night, why on earth can’t someone just turn off the tree…during the day at the very least?
Another reader wrote us with this holiday decoration comment:
I saw a house in Cedar Grove that had Christmas decorations in their front yard (not embedded in snow) and St. Patrick’s Day decorations in their window. Gosh that’s just not right. The snow is gone and the weather is a bit nicer.
It’s time everyone get out there and put them away. That goes for wreaths too!
Also – I am still seeing real Christmas trees being put out for garbage pick-up. Really? Folks still have Christmas trees up!
A month ago, our readers voted in our post Flotsam and Jetsam of Holidays Past, and 63% said they felt remaining decoration had “overstayed their welcome.”
Now, with folks layering the next holiday’s trimmings right on top of the last, let’s see if the numbers of intolerant has risen. By the email we’ve been getting, we think the results will indicate widespread holiday decoration unrest amongst the Baristaville masses. Take our poll below.
Location, location. If you want to have dinner and get to your movie at the Clairidge on time, there’s probably no closer, faster option than Tosca, Church Street’s new Italian featuring brick oven pizzas, pastas, paninis, and salads for lunch as well as more substantial fare (think osso bucco) for dinner.
On two recent visits to Tosca, (one lunch, one dinner) the place was packed with shoppers, families, movie goers and others, getting out from the snow to enjoy a meal. Tosca takes the space formerly occupied by Cianci (which you’ll remember was formerly Suzette — if you remember what was there before that, tell us in comments). Continue Reading
