Backward Glances makes a move to Asbury Park
After 28 years in Red Bank, store relocates to Shoppes at the Arcade
On Saturday, vintage retail clothing and accessories boutique Backward Glances opened up in Asbury Park.
The store had occupied store fronts in Red Bank for 28 years but now its vintage clothing, costumes, interesting t-shirts, little funky gifts, jewelry, coasters and other wares are all relocated to a basement-level space in the Shoppes at the Arcade located on downtown Cookman Avenue.
Owner Cindy Wolfson Ciullo said rents in Red Bank rose too high in recent years and the base of clientele in Asbury Park is much more suited to her shop’s style.
“Asbury Park is very up-and-coming, I think,” she said. “Red Bank used to have an artsy vibe, a lot of cool stores, and they no longer have that.”
Red Bank’s new upscale vibe is not something Ciullo fits in with, she said.
Folks in Asbury Park are much more “artsier and funkier,” according to Ciullo, who is originally from Piscataway and never really aspired to own a store, she said. Apparently, an entrepreneurial spirit runs in her family as her parents owned a gift shop in South Plainfield for over 20 years and her grandmother owned a millery in Newark in the early 1900s, she said.
After 28 years in the same town, a bit of nostalgia kicked in when she first considered making a move out of Red Bank, and although she was a little apprehensive at first once she saw the location “the decision was easy,” said Ciullo.
“I’m looking forward to joining in this wonderful town,” she said.
As for the foot traffic, Ciullo is hopeful it will increase as more people become aware of the shops existence — with the recent spate of unfavorable weather the shop has really only been open about two days, she said.
“Today is the first day we pretty much reopened,” she said. “It’s a little different. I had a storefront in Red Bank but store fronts in Red Bank aren’t what they are cracked up to be.”
Ciullo and her husband are also considering making Asbury Park their permanent home, she said.
“I’ve been in love with Asbury Park for years now,” she said.
Backward Glances is located in the Shoppes at the Arcade, 658 Cookman Ave. Store hours are 12 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday – Friday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. The store is closed on Tuesdays.
