Summer in our area is buzzing with excitement as a wave of new businesses opens their doors, bringing fresh offerings to the Montclair and Essex County community. Read on to learn more about these vibrant additions to our local scene.
AIR Aerial Fitness | 15 Village Plaza Suite #SF2, South Orange
Classes at this fitness studio combine pilates, ballet, and HIIT on aerial hammocks, redefining the concept of an aerial class. Owner Maura Hargrave-Kerns fell in love with AIR after taking her first class and now brings this dynamic fitness method to her hometown. With an emphasis on efficiency, results, and quality, AIR provides a unique workout that targets muscles you never knew you had.
Read More: A List of Black-Owned Businesses to Support in Montclair + Bloomfield
Amai Ice Cream | 625 Bloomfield Avenue, Bloomfield
Photo Credit: Kitana James
This new ice cream shop in town brings a unique and flavorful experience to our area. Owner Kitana James drew inspiration from her Caribbean roots, infusing her creamy creations with a touch of liquor. You can also customize and have them create any flavor you like, including alcohol-infused sorbet and vegan ice cream.
Artie’s | 15 Newark Way, Maplewood
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Neighborhood favorite Arturo’s Restaurant merged with its sister brand The Bread Stand bakery to transform into Artie’s. The menu includes items like gourmet wood-fired pizzas and warm, fresh-baked bread.
Forever Welded | 314 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair
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New Jersey’s first permanent jewelry store sells luxury custom pieces tailored to the wearer’s preferences. Unfamiliar with permanent jewelry? It doesn’t have a clasp for easy removal. Instead, the ends are welded together — with the intention of never taking it off.
Gioia Mia | 331 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair
Photo Credit: Zack Pearl @thebacyard
Led by Chef Logan Ramirez and Manager Mary Cumella, who were previously part of the Fascino restaurant team, this newcomer aims to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The restaurant features a diverse menu featuring seasonal, farm-to-table ingredients with influences from various cuisines.
Genevieve’s Exclusive Vintage Collection | 10 Lackawanna Avenue, Montclair
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When you visit this new shop, you will find a carefully curated selection of designer clothing for men and women. Owner Genevieve Wrenn brings her passion for sustainability over fast fashion to the forefront. She selects each piece with a keen eye for quality — from denim, outerwear, and shoes to accessories.
The Juice House | 10 North Willow Street, Montclair
Founded by nutrition enthusiast Arielle Cassidy, this spot will serve up an array of juices, smoothies, bowls, wellness shots, and grab-and-go items. Menu items include kombucha, almond butter bites, protein energy bites, and peanut butter bark. Guests can also customize their order to be vegan or nut free.
Millburn Ramen | 318A Millburn Avenue, Millburn
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This new restaurant serves up authentic Japanese cuisine with high-quality ingredients and inventive flavors. Offerings include Volcano Ramen, made with spicy miso broth, chashu pork (pork loin or kurobuta pork belly), cabbage, wood ear mushroom, fish cake, bamboo shoots, red pickled ginger, scallions, and half soy egg.
The Ethical Mattress | 387 Millburn Avenue, Millburn
Bedding industry veteran Bryan Umiker has launched this sleep specialty store to provide you with natural sleep products. With a focus on exceptional quality, environmentally-friendly practices, and a relaxed sales environment, the store sells mattresses made in New Jersey, along with locally sourced bed frames.
Fanny’s Restaurant + Bar | 1109 Broad Street, Bloomfield
Photo Credit: Diaz + Scholss Communications
This new addition to the local food scene serves up sophisticated regional Italian dishes with a Jersey twist. Named in honor of the owners’ Italian nonna, Fanny’s menu features classic and elevated dishes like housemade pasta and chicken marsala.
Fatto Con Amore | 349 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair
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Guests will experience the Italian sandwich concept when stepping into this new spot owned by Chef Robbie Felice. He carefully selects the freshest ingredients, including locally baked breads; and imported meats, cheese, vinegars, and olive oils from Italy.
Kinjo | 155 Washington Avenue, Newark
Photo Credit: TRBO Media
This Japanese-inspired restaurant is set to open this summer. Under Chef William Sanders’s guidance, the menu will feature a modern twist on Japanese cuisine, serving up dumplings, bao, sushi rolls, and ramen. The interior boasts 120 seats, a full bar, and a creative cocktail list.
Little Palms Soft Play | Montclair Area
This mobile soft play rental company brings the fun and safety of a colorful play area to your home. Founded by Karlene Palmer-Mcleod, it provides a range of packages and customizable options to suit your needs.
Mud Clay Studio | 370 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair
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This newly opened studio has memberships, comprehensive courses, and BYOB pottery wheel events. Led by founder Melanie Tomaszewski, it provides a welcoming space equipped with 25 pottery wheels, production kilns, and all the tools needed to unleash your creativity.
2nd Street USA | 10 South Park Street, Montclair
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This popular New York-based vintage/thrift shore store has made it to our area. It sells great finds on authentic second-hand items from the US and Japan. Neighbors can sell some of those gems sitting in the back of the closet.
Varitage Brew Works | 58 Washington Street, Bloomfield
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This new spot is anticipated to open in August 2023. Founder/CEO/head brewer Mark Costa is opening Bloomfield’s first microbrewery, which will provide residents and beer lovers with over a dozen different styles of craft beer. Patrons will be able to sit and enjoy a drink in the taproom on-site or purchase to-go options to enjoy outside of the brewery.
Viv Infusions | 44 Main Street Suite 3, Millburn
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Visitors will find a range of wellness and anti-aging treatments that can help optimize overall health at this new center. Whether clients want to increase sports endurance or need an energy boost, the team of licensed medical doctors, nurse practitioners, and nurses will collaborate with clients to create a tailored treatment plan.
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WELL in Montclair | 105 Grove Street #17, Montclair
Led by owner Cathy Stephenson, this new minority/woman-owned wellness practice provides a team-oriented approach to wellness, bringing together experts from various disciplines to provide individualized treatment and preventive care. The goal is to help the community achieve physical vitality, mental health, resilience, and a supportive lifestyle.
Date Ideas for Dry January in Northern New Jersey
After the indulgence of the holiday season, many people choose to participate in Dry January as a way to start the year on a cleaner note. Luckily, cutting out alcohol doesn’t mean sacrificing your dating life, as there are plenty of great date activities in the Montclair area that can be enjoyed booze-free. Whether you’re participating in Dry January or are just looking to spice up date night sans alcohol, we have you covered with options that are unique, fun, and either get you moving or get your creative juices flowing. Read on for our list of date night ideas in Northern New Jersey for Dry January + beyond.
Candle + Fragrance Making at Alchemy Scent Bar | 30 Church Street, Montclair
Playing with scent is one way to cozy up, and Alchemy Scent Bar is the perfect place to do it. This scent shop provides the unique experience of creating custom candles and fragrances. Guests start by choosing their favorite scents from the candle wall, then head to the fragrance bar where one of the alchemists will help craft a custom-scented creation. In addition to being a great bonding activity, guests also get to take a memento home with them — to be burned or spritzed later in remembrance of the shared experience.
Read More: A Cozy Winter Activity: Candle Making in New Jersey
Coffee + Browsing the Montclair Art Museum | 3 South Mountain Avenue, Montclair
The Montclair Art Museum is an amazing piece of history and culture, and with the opening of its Cornerstone Café, this is an all-in-one date option for a Friday afternoon. Open only on Fridays, the cafe serves coffee from Java Love Roasting Co along with other drinks and snacks. The museum itself features rotating exhibitions in addition to its permanent collection, which keeps things fresh for frequent museum-goers. For those who are feeling extra artsy, the museum has classes and workshops for adults such as collaging, painting, and pottery.
Gaming at Hometown Arcade | 85 Washington Street, Bloomfield
Hometown Arcade is a family-friendly spot in Bloomfield where guests can play all sorts of games, including retro ones like Donkey Kong, Frogger, Asteroids, and Pac-Man. The arcade also partners with local food businesses like Six Points Pizza for patrons to enjoy a bite.
Get a Couple’s Head Massage at Aura Head Spa | 28 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair
Aura Head Spa in Montclair specializes in Japanese-style head massages. At this spa, visitors can choose from multiple massages, all of which can be done with a partner. The Classic Head Spa treatment can be for 50 or 75 minutes and comes with a face cleanse, scalp exfoliation, scalp massage, shampoo cleanse, aura shampoo massage, and more. The Head Spa with Mini Facial + Jelly Mask package comes with face exfoliation, gua sha, scalp exfoliation + massage, neck + shoulder massage, and more.
Indoor Rock Climbing at Gravity Vault | 8 Seymour Street, Montclair
A climbing gym is the perfect backdrop for mixing up your dating game, especially for the sporty types. Gravity Vault Montclair is a bouldering-only climbing gym (a form of rock climbing that is done on shorter walls that are scaled without ropes or harnesses) that caters to all abilities and experience levels. Navigate through countless climbing patterns (clearly labeled with the difficulty level) for a fun and challenging experience (plus a killer workout). Day passes are $28 for adults.
Live Music Shows at Cedar Bean’s Coffee Joint | 575 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove
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It’s all about community at Cedar Bean’s, giving the patrons of Essex County a taste of small-town charm that feels reminiscent of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. This quaint local coffee shop welcomes patrons in for live music performances. Cedar Bean’s has an extensive menu of both caffeinated and decaffeinated beverages (even non-alcoholic beer), with many seasonal options.
Mystic Pizza at Paper Mill Playhouse | 22 Brookside Drive, Millburn
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Paper Mill Playhouse is one of the leading theater destinations of the tri-state area, and is widely recognized for its showings of world-class musical theater. The production that we’re eying for January is Mystic Pizza, a musical adaptation of the beloved 1988 rom-com that starred Julia Roberts. The show is playing from January 29th to February 23rd. See more information about tickets here.
Partake in a Craft Class at The Eclectic Chic Boutique | 547 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair
The Eclectic Chic Boutique is a collective of different local artists, makers, and small businesses. Guests can shop for handmade, original products — and there is even a chance to make some yourself. The Eclectic Chic Boutique hosts different craft classes and workshops like crocheting, candle making, or creating a collage. The boutique updates its events frequently on its website here.
Play Darts at DartsGood Social House | 293 Glenwood Avenue, Bloomfield
This dart arena in Bloomfield can make for a great date, especially for competitive couples. While guests are welcome to bring their own darts, the business provides them. DartsGood has games such as 501, 301, cricket, Around the Clock, High Score, and more.
Play a Round at Montclair Indoor Golf Club | 369 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair
Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced golf connoisseur, Montclair Indoor Golf Club is home to two virtual golf bays for members to use. The courses are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year. This indoor golf simulator brings the outdoor setting of an actual golf course indoors — without having to bear with the January weather.
Pottery Class at Mud Clay Studio | 370 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, 409 Main Street, Boonton + 6 Main Street, Madison
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Look no further than Mud Clay Studio if you want to make your date a “claydate”. With locations in Montclair, Boonton, and Madison, and a robust programming schedule of Creative Clay Nights, Couples Nights, and more, Mud Clay Studio has an array of options for taking your date to the wheel. Classes begin with a quick introduction to hand-building with clay, then move to the potter’s wheel for the creation phase, and end with folks picking their glaze colors for the final product.
See More: Alcohol-Free Activities in Hoboken + Jersey City
Test Your Skills at Amazing Escape Room | 281 Liberty Street, Bloomfield
The Amazing Escape Room is home to several themed rooms that each have interactive puzzles and riddles to solve. Couples can make it a group date-night kind of situation, to make the escape room experience more lively. Adrenaline will be at an all-time high but once customers complete the escape room, photo ops with signs are available to show off your win.
