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March 29, 2005
GERTRUDE HAWK CHOCOLATES LEASES RETAIL SPACE ON ASBURY PARK BOARDWALK
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| Life just got a little sweeter for chocolate lovers in the Asbury Park area. Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, a renowned retailer of fine chocolates, has leased 1,260 square feet of space on Asbury Park's famed mile-long boardwalk for the upcoming summer season. The company is taking advantage of a special offer made by Asbury Partners, LLC, master developer of the Oceanfront Asbury 56-acre waterfront redevelopment, which is enticing seasonal retailers to this newly refurbished area with flexible lease terms and reasonable rents. Pictured is the interior of a typical store.
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Life just got a little sweeter for chocolate lovers in the Asbury Park area. Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, a renowned retailer of fine chocolates, has leased 1,260 square feet of space on Asbury Park's famed mile-long boardwalk for the upcoming summer season.
The company is taking advantage of a special offer made by Asbury Partners, LLC,
master developer of the Oceanfront Asbury 56-acre waterfront redevelopment, which
is enticing seasonal retailers to this newly refurbished area with flexible lease
terms and reasonable rents.
"We are very excited to have Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, one of the finest firms in the chocolate business, join us on the boardwalk," said Uri Kahanow of Asbury Partners, who handled the lease negotiations along with Beth Chezmar of Turton Commercial Real Estate in Brick.
"It shows that they have put their faith in the redevelopment of Asbury Park and its re-emergence as the Jewel of the Jersey Shore."
As part of the Oceanfront Asbury project, the City's boardwalk underwent a multi-million dollar renovation last year, stretching from Ocean Grove to 6th Avenue.
As a result, the City reported a 15 percent increase in beach and boardwalk
revenues last summer. This year, ten stores were initially marketed in the newly
rehabilitated First and Fifth Avenue pavilions, three of which have already
been leased. In addition to Gertrude Hawk, The Beach Place restaurant and Asbury
Peddlers, renting bicycles, beach chairs and beach umbrellas, have also signed
retail leases.
"We have been flooded with inquiries about these seasonal leases," said Larry Fishman, chief operating officer for Asbury Partners. "The boardwalk renovations, coupled with the full lineup of beachfront entertainment slated for the summer, will draw thousands of visitors.
That means thousands of potential customers for those seasonal retailers.
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A Boardwalk Tradition of Sweet Treats
Gertrude Hawk is following in the footsteps of a long line of sweet treat shops, which have, historically, made their mark on this shorefront community, where beachside strollers enjoy everything from candy apples and cotton candy, to frozen custard and Belgian waffles.
The Gertrude Hawk Chocolate Shop will occupy a spot once filled by Criterion Chocolates in the First Avenue Pavilion.
The store is being designed with the warm, inviting atmosphere of an old-fashioned country general store.
"We are really thrilled about locating in Asbury Park," said Chris Cuneo, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates' vice president of retail. "It's our first store in a beach front location, and opens up a whole new area for us.
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The Asbury Park Gertrude Hawk Chocolate Shop will feature a "Chocolate Bar" offering ice cream bars, strawberries, bananas and apples hand-dipped in creamy Gertrude Hawk chocolate.
According to Susan Pomeroy, vice president of marketing,
"We wanted to create a chocolate shop that invited customers to come in, linger unrushed, try a free sample of our chocolates and enjoy a nostalgic escape from the hurry of everyday life. The Asbury Park complex will be the perfect complement to the store's ambience.
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Headquartered in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates is a family-owned firm, whose hand-dipped chocolates are now sold in over 70 stores throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Their Asbury Park location will be open from mid-May through the end of September to serve residents and seasonal visitors alike.
"Oceanfront Asbury's long-term plan calls for 450,000 square feet of retail and
entertainment space that will attract a mix of seasonal and year-round tenants, resulting in a 'SOHO meets South Beach' oceanfront destination," said Fishman.
"This summer's rental opportunities will allow forward thinking retailers like Gertrude Hawk Chocolates to get in on the ground floor as the city's redevelopment begins to come into its own.
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