Copeland’s at core of blooming business center
New market anchors growing flower/produce district on Broad Street
By gloria stravelli
Staff Writer
CHRIS KELLY John Copeland’s new farmers’ market opened last week in the Red Bank mini-mall.
With upscale retailers and restaurants, art galleries and coffee shops, walk-ups and a shuttle bus, Red Bank’s looking more like a small city than a small town these days.
Add a market district that is taking shape at the center of town and Red Bank has many of the conveniences of city life — without the crowds.
"People are saying, ‘It’s something right out of New York,’" said John Copeland, whose new 4,000-square-foot farmers’ market is the centerpiece of a small flower/produce market springing up on Red Bank’s main street.
Copeland’s Market, which opened last week at the corner of Broad and Monmouth streets in the Red Bank mini-mall, combines the ambiance of the countryside with the conveniences of a trendy neighborhood.
Chris Kelly Susan Deiss works on a topiary at her flower shop, Shades of Green.
Around Copeland’s, a mini flower district is taking shape, bordered on the south by Shades of Green and the new Red Bank Flowers, which will have a wholesale flower market component, and by Dean’s Flowers on the north.
"The market complements everything already in place in Red Bank," said Copeland, proprietor of the Broadway Grill restaurant next door to the new market. "People are saying it’s just what the town needed, and that’s partly why I did it."
Copeland sees the market as a return to the tradition of a central market where residents socialize while shopping for quality foods.
During its first weekend of operation, Copeland said, response was overwhelmingly positive.
"People are impressed with the look of the place and the variety, and that makes me feel good, because I designed it," he said.
Copeland had the farmers’ market in mind since he opened his first Broadway Grill in Manasquan 11 years ago. In the interim, he opened the restaurant in Red Bank, another in Somerville and a deli in town. He also developed the concept of the farmers’ market and is currently planning an inn at the shore.
Since it opened in 1992, Broadway Grill in Red Bank has grown from serving 100 customers a day to more than 800 on weekdays and more than 1,000 on weekends, he said.
"I realized I wanted to do a farmers’ market when I opened in Manasquan," he said. "I even started doing research about it, but I got caught up in the Broadway Grill here, and it was on the back burner."
Renovation of the mini-mall created space adjacent to Broadway Grill and gave Copeland a spot for the market, which opened last week with six main areas: produce, deli, salad bar, cheese shop, bakery and gourmet groceries. Within the next couple of months, specialized areas will develop from these. For example, the produce area will add a flower market and the deli will offer catering service.
The market complements the thriving restaurant in important ways. It expands the restaurant’s takeout — 25 percent of Broadway Grill’s business is takeout — and serves new markets as well.
The bakery will feature artisan breads from ten different bakeries, the cheese department will stock domestic and imported cheeses and the deli will offer foods not available in the restaurant.
"It offers flexibility in product offerings and in price, which will range from moderate to high end," Copeland explained.
The market format also offers convenience.
"There’s no waiting. You walk in, a sandwich is made, and in three minutes you’re out," he said. "Or you’re at the salad bar for a couple of minutes."
In addition, the market provides a natural staging area for restaurant provisions.
"The dining room is so busy and the kitchen is limited in size, so I needed a way to expand storage," explained Copeland.
Fresh produce, breads and a cooler full of beverages are now just a few steps away from Broadway Grill, which opens to Copeland’s Market.
Another spin-off will be a sweet shop/ice cream shop that will open in the former location of Backstage, the deli a few doors from the restaurant.
"I’m so excited about this," said Copeland, who this week will celebrate Broadway Grill’s 10th anniversary on Broad Street.
But there’s no time to rest on his laurels.
"I’m so busy," he said, "I’m going to have to say, ‘Good job. Now get back to work,’" Copeland said, noting that only 1 percent of new restaurants make it to the ten-year mark.
One of his new projects is The Country Inn, an inn and restaurant he’s planning to build in Manasquan.
Three flower shops, each with its own personality, surround Copeland’s Market, giving shoppers who want to pick up dinner and a bouquet of posies lots of options.
Shades of Green moved to 116 Broad St. in March from Ocean Township, where it was known as Flowers Betsy.
Shades of Green is an eclectic flower shop that also has artsy home accessories, cottage furniture and vintage light fixtures, which owner Susan Deiss refurbishes and embellishes.
Deiss works with unusual blooms like hydrangea, bee balm and many different shades of roses.
"I only carry the more beautiful varieties," she said, "and I time it so the flowers are opened perfectly."
Deiss specializes in weddings and talks to a bride-to-be "to get a sense of what she wants her special day to be."
"And I try to make it that way," she added.
Red Bank Florist will open next door to the market at 80 Broad St. in early August. Currently known as Gizzi Red Bank Florist, the family-run shop is located on West Front Street. Lina, Val and Oksana Ivashchenko are Russian émigrés who specialize in Old World, formal designs that cater to the tastes of a high-end clientele.
In addition to the classic arrangements that Lina designs for the area’s manor homes, the new shop will launch several innovative specials, including WholeSale Days on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, when flowers will sell at wholesale prices.
"We are bringing 28th Street in New York (the city’s wholesale flower district) to Red Bank," said Val.
Designer Days will feature workshops on floral design by guest designers, and Restaurant Day on Wednesdays will offer arrangements for eateries beginning at $25.
Established in 1897, Dean’s Flowers is rooted in tradition. Owned by Red Bank natives Tom and Debbie Doremus since 1976, the shop was formerly at 130 Broad St. and moved to a vintage brick building at 15-17 Monmouth St. in the spring.
A fourth-generation Red Bank firefighter, Tom has worked at the shop since the eighth grade. A member of the Doremus family, prominent in Red Bank’s business community since the turn of the century, Tom said he enjoys the fact that he is now doing wedding flowers for the third generation of Dean’s customers.
Sitting outside Dean’s most days is a bucket with bouquets of ready-to-go mixed flowers, and inside, amidst the heirloom furniture, are pots of flowers set out so that patrons can touch and smell them and give in to the impulse to bring some home.