FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, December 22, 2014

Main Street New Jersey Reminds Residents of Last NJ350 Pop-Up Store

Friends of the NJ State Museum Shop Hosts "Wrap-Up" NJ350 Pop-Up Store Celebrating New Jersey’s 350th Birthday



TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner, Richard E. Constable, III, today reminded residents that the final NJ350 Pop-Up Store will make an appearance at the NJ State Museum Shop to culminate New Jersey’s 350th Anniversary. The last of 16 stores will be hosted by the Friends of the NJ State Museum Center Alliance in historic downtown Trenton, NJ at  205 West State Street (2nd Floor of the Museum).  The store will run for a limited engagement through December 31, 2014. Store hours can be found on the NJ350 website.

"The NJ350 Pop-Up stores have been extremely successful," said Commissioner Constable. "This initiative has demonstrated that through local investment, a community's downtown area can create new and returning merchants, more shoppers, and visitors."

The Trenton store will be the last place patrons can pick up NJ350-Branded sweatshirts, t-shirts, tote bags and mugs, as well as items from the Island of Jersey (from which New Jersey received its name 350 years ago.

"We are thrilled to be able to host this special set of merchandise in the Friends Shop as the NJ350 celebration comes to a close," noted Friends of the New Jersey State Museum Executive Director Nicole Jannotte. "Right now we are in the midst of our annual holiday sale featuring 20% off almost the entire store – through December 23. The timing of the Pop-Up Store’s arrival couldn’t be better because you can catch a viewing of Holiday Laser Lights in the Planetarium and participate in Patriot’s Week themed activities, all while getting your holiday gift shopping done!"

The NJ 350 Pop-Up Store concept has highlighted, over the past twelve months, the assets that downtown businesses bring to the state’s economy, culture, and history and is made possible by Main Street New Jersey, the NJ Department of Community Affairs and the NJ Historical Commission, and is sponsored by vend, SnapRetail, IKEA, Friends of NJ State Museum, RetailMinded, Storesigns.com, ITO Design, Alignable, the NJ State Museum and the NJ State Archives. Promotional partners for this year-long program include Independent We Stand, BALLE and the American Independent Business Alliance.

"The NJ 350 Pop-Up store program has raised awareness of the rich history, character, and commerce in our traditional towns all over the state. We have shown that a vacant or non-retail storefront can have retail success, inspiring small businesses to fill that space after each pop-up store moves to the next location around the state," said Jef Buehler, State Coordinator of the Main Street New Jersey and Improvement District Program. "We are grateful to have our NJ350 merchandise hosted at the State Museum to wrap up this year-long program."

The NJ350 Pop-Up Store project is made possible by Main Street New Jersey, the NJ Department of Community Affairs and the NJ Historical Commission, and is sponsored by vend, SnapRetail, IKEA, Friends of NJ State Museum, RetailMinded, Storesigns.com, The NJ State Archives, ITO Design, Alignable, and the NJ State Museum. Promotional partners for this year-long program include Independent We Stand, Be A Localist (BALLE) and the American Independent Business Alliance.

Main Street New Jersey is a comprehensive revitalization program that promotes the historic and economic redevelopment of traditional business districts in New Jersey. The program builds on the Main Street Approach™ that was developed by the National Trust’s National Main Street Center in 1980 to assist downtown revitalization efforts nationwide. Communities participating in Main Street New Jersey receive valuable technical support and training to assist in improving their Main Streets. The program employs a four-point approach that focuses on:

 

  • Building a strong, local Main Street organization that is well-represented and funded by stakeholders such as residents, merchants, civic groups, and bankers; 

  • Restructuring the district’s economics by engaging in such activities as recruiting new businesses, converting unused space for new uses, and sharpening the competitiveness of merchants; 

  • Enhancing the visual appearance, attractiveness and traffic management of the business district; and 

  • Promoting the district through festivals, retail events and marketing campaign to encourage consumer traffic. 

 

For more information, visit NJ350ShopLocal on Facebook and Twitter, or on the web at http://officialnj350.com/category/shop-nj350/.

For more information regarding Main Street New Jersey, log on to www.mainstreetnewjersey.com.