Sparrow Builds a Nest in Oceanport

Owners Sherry Byram and Lianne Pragosa have deep roots in town and hope that their new shop is the start of Main Street's transformation.

Mix all of the stylish home accents and accessories you see in the Ballard Design catalog with great prices and you get Sparrow, a charming new store that opened last month in Oceanport Plaza by long-time borough residents. Think topiaries and botanical prints, mercury glass votives and straw handbags. And then wrap it all up in burlap for good measure. The mother-daughter team of Sherry Byram and Lianne Pragosa have assembled a fun mix of goodies for the home with gifts, jewelry, handbags, children-swear and invitations right in the heart of what they hope is to become a thriving retail destination over the next few years. "There was never any doubt about where we'd open," says Byram of the long-standing strip mall in town that sits next …

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The Next Chapter

Oceanport Mom Makes Space for Organizing

Kate Lockwood took the skills she honed as a teacher for 13 years and launched Make Space for Organizing to bring order outside the classroom.

Kate Lockwood of Oceanport does not like feeling out of control. So when she found herself out of work two years ago, she decided she needed to look beyond the classroom for work. "I was lost," says the mom of two about being let go from her teaching position due to downsizing. "I mean, what do you do?" she adds, noting that she had worked at the local private school for nine years. What bothered her the most about the layoff, she says, was that it wasn't her decision. "It wasn't my call," says Lockwood, whose daughters are 8- and 5-years-old. "Somebody else forced it." After subbing for two more years and unable to lock in a full-time position, Lockwood — who's lived in Oceanport for seven years — says she started to consider other …

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Kathryn Lockwood

3:39 pm on Saturday, October 27, 2012

Thanks Shannon! There are new tips every week!   more ›

What Should Go Here?

Oceanport Plaza, the heart of the borough's business district, looks like it needs to be resuscitated.

Oceanport's new Village Center, which will include 35,000 square feet of retail space, is expected to open its doors in 2014 but not 100 yards away sits an existing strip of commercial space that is just begging to be filled. Oceanport Plaza, built along East Main Street about four decades ago, boasts a number of empty storefronts that at one point held staples for small-town living like an ice cream shop and a video store. In July, Mayor Michael Mahon told Patch, "We would encourage the owners (of Village Center) to take advantage of activity at the fort and Monmouth Park as the local economy improves and redevelopment opportunities stimulate investment in their property." Our call to Teicher Realty, the company that owns and manages …

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Jack Harris

2:32 pm on Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Exactly. I had the same thought. I mostly work from home and a real local coffee shop would be a great place to recharge and probably even a quieter place to meet with clients or colleagues then many of the places in Red Bank or Shrewsbury. I'm hoping someone sees an investment possibility in the new plaza.   more ›

Oceanport Village Center to Open Doors in Early 2014

Construction on the two buildings is scheduled to begin next week and last 18 months.

Six years after the property along East Main Street was purchased from the state for development, work is about to begin on Oceanport's Village Center that will bring 35,000 square feet of retail space to the borough's downtown. Work is expected to begin on the project next week and should take about 18 months until the first tenants move in, according to Victor Gourkanti, the developer of the project, at a groundbreaking ceremony at the site on Monday. The gathering in the grassy field along East Main Street on Aug. 13 included representatives from many of the parties that had a hand in getting the project off the ground, including the architect, engineer, lending institution and Oceanport officials. Gourkanti said he purchased through …

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Village Center Ground Breaking Monday in Oceanport

The long-awaited project will bring retail, office and residential space to the borough's downtown.

Work on Oceanport's Village Center to Break Ground Monday

The long-awaited project will bring retail, office and residential space to the borough's downtown.

At long last, changes are coming to Oceanport's downtown business district. The developer of the borough's Village Center, which will include about 38,000 square feet of retail and office space, will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Aug. 13. The 4 p.m. ceremony at the corner of East Main Street and Port au Peck Avenue signals the start of construction on the first commercial project in Oceanport's downtown in a number of years, according to the borough's administrator, Kim Jungfer. The 4.7-acre site was purchased from the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority and sits adjacent to Maria Gatta Community Park, said Jungfer. She said the bottom level of the building would be targeted as retail space and the second and "partial …

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Your Vote Counts: Locals Vie for Small Business Grants

From an Oceanport boutique owner to a life coach, small businesses in your town are hoping you will vote them into the final round of competition. Better hurry: voting ends Saturday at midnight.

For a small business $250,000 isn't just big money, it's life changing money. That's why hunderds of business owners around the country and here in Monmouth County are social networking their thumbs off to get you to throw your vote behind their next business idea. Chase and Living Social have launched Mission: Small Business with the intent of giving away up to $3 million in 12 grants of $250,000 each, to those business owners who show not just a good plan, but how their venture will benefit the community and create jobs. The catch is that to even be considered, each one must get 250 votes through the Mission: Small Business web site. A bid to monetize your stuff Jennifer Maddalena, of Oceanport, is in the race to get her 250 votes. …

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It's Home Cooked Food, Just Not from Your Kitchen

Know anyone doing this in Little Silver or Oceanport?

Jennifer Swyer comes from a family of cooks, her mom, her dad, her brother, her grandmother, all experts at crafting fine home cooked meals. "And we were always trying to out do each other," she said. After she got married and started a family, Swyer used her gifts to host sitdown dinners for 25 and big holiday parties with all home cooked food. For years her friends and family pushed her to turn her love for food into a business. Finally, last Christmas Swyer relented and started up Chloe's Kitchen, cooking and delivering family style comfort meals to residents in the Rumson area. Swyer's daughter Chloe named the business which her mom does at a near by commercial kitchen where she rents space, while she attends Fair Haven Academy. Swyer …

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Little Silver and Oceanport Businesses: Claim Your Listing on Patch

Business owners are encouraged to claim listings in Patch Places to better promote their business and inform Little Silver-Oceanport Patch readers.

When Little Silver-Oceanport Patch launched in November 2010, editors and freelancers ventured to local businesses in order to collect information for our directory. Now, a year later, Patch Places is a spot where users can find descriptions, hours, accepted payment methods, and much more for spots around town. All users can add events taking place at local spots, can rate the business on a scale of one to five stars, and can add a review. But owners of local businesses get extra bonuses when they claim a listing. Owners or managers should search for their business listing and select "claim your listing" in order to make updates to the page. A form will pop up asking for your name, contact information, and proof of ownership. Within a few …

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