Red Bank's Busy Season Moved to Summer. November Belongs to Its Oldest Buildings.
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
On the afternoon of September 30, staff from Yumi at 9 Broad Street stacked their streatery tables and chairs, and by the next morning cars were back on the north end of Broad Street. In Red Bank Green's account of that last day, Rivercenter Executive Director Mairin Bennett had a printout of cellphone location data on her desk. It showed something that would have been hard to believe a few years ago.
"Previously, summers were dead," she told the paper. "Summers now are busier than the holidays."
That shift changes what the next two months are for. Red Bank used to build toward the holidays. Now it is coming down from a peak, and the outdoor plaza that drew the crowds is in storage until next season. This fall, the town's draw has moved inside, into two buildings on Monmouth Street that are each about a century old.
Here is how big the summer was. Rivercenter uses Placer.ai, which estimates foot traffic from phone location data. Bennett told Red Bank Green that the special improvement district averaged more than 1,000 extra visitors a day compared with 2025. A typical visit in 2026 lasted 88 minutes. Foot traffic also climbed during the Broadwalk months, which reversed the old pattern of shore visitors staying at the beaches all summer.
With the plaza put away, this fall's draw sits in two buildings about a block apart on Monmouth Street.
The Count Basie Center for the Arts opened as Reade's Carlton on November 11, 1926. It started as a movie and vaudeville house, later became the Monmouth Arts Center, and was renamed for Count Basie in 1984. The anniversary itself falls on a Wednesday this year, and the Basie has scheduled one event for that night and a larger one three days later.
Wednesday, November 11. The Count Basie Center Gospel Choir presents Voices for the Centennial Celebration at The Vogel, 99 Monmouth Street. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 6. Music director Gwen Moten and assistant music director Dr. B. Dexter Allgood lead the choir, with guest artists and area choirs on the bill.
Saturday, November 14. The Centennial Celebration Finale recreates opening night at the Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 6. The program lists 1920s hot jazz, Gatsby-era cars, period fashion, a speakeasy-style room, and prizes for the best retro costume. The centerpiece is a 4K restoration of The Quarterback, the silent comedy that played on the theater's first night, with live accompaniment by silent film organist Ben Model. The Basie says it is the first time the film has been shown there in a century. Tickets are $19.26. Guests can upgrade to a post-show gala next door at The Vogel honoring Senator Vin Gopal and Netflix.
The finale caps a celebration the Basie announced as a 16-month slate. It included a Walk of Fame, a community oral-history project called "100 Years of Soul, Sounds and Stories," the Stamped Stories postcard series, a community mural, and a three-day 1926-themed finale. The Two River Times reported that the August birthday weekend included a free Count Basie Orchestra community event, a Black Heritage Trail marker dedication on August 21, and a $19.26 orchestra concert on August 22. That price has been the centennial's calling card since summer.
The rest of the Basie's November and early December, according to its event listings:
The Anderson Building at 200 Monmouth Street is the other century-old anchor. Culture Collective Hospitality Group, led by Chris Viola, took over the ground floor a year ago after the grocer Sickles closed and turned it into a food hall, Anderson Market. Red Bank Green called the September 18 opening of The Lobby Bar "the final piece of the puzzle" in that remake.
The Lobby Bar puts the liquor license from Danny's Steakhouse back to use. During the day it serves fresh juice and made-to-order smoothies while a record plays start to finish. In the evening it becomes a cocktail and aperitivo bar with low- and no-ABV options.
In the room next door, Culture Collective announced Studio Omekase. It is a 14-seat chef's counter where Chef Steven Wong will serve a 12-course tasting menu built around the day's fish. Seats are $108 per person, reserved and paid in advance, and public reservations opened September 24. Wong spent more than forty years behind sushi counters in New York and Miami, most recently as head sushi chef at Moko Omakase. "I'm excited to open the first omakase in Red Bank," he said in the release Red Bank Green quoted. The food hall's lineup keeps changing, too. According to the Asbury Park Press, Namkeen Hot Chicken has left and Little Andy's burgers is preparing to take its spot.
The timing matters for the season. Anderson Market is now a place to spend an evening, with a bar and a counter that takes reservations, and both are indoors.
The blocks of Monmouth Street between the Basie and the Anderson Building have filled in fast this fall.
Pollara Pizza. Jon Smulewitz opened his slice shop on Monmouth Street in August after running Dopo and Adesso in Oakland, California. In September, the food writers at nj.com/The Star-Ledger ranked his ricotta pie No. 1 in their 2026 list of New Jersey's 125 best pizzas, ahead of the previous champion, Corner Slice of Maplewood. As Red Bank Green reported, the crust uses sourdough starter from Gabriele Bonci's Pizzarium in Rome. The ricotta is made several times a day.
Insomnia Cookies. The chain began a soft opening in early September at 6–8 Monmouth Street, also known as 74 Broad Street. Red Bank Green noted that the storefront had been vacant since 2018.
Reves Smooth & Acaí Cafe, 42 Monmouth Street. This is the second location for husband-and-wife owners Sebastian Balk and Cynthia Noack. It held its grand opening in September next to Crazy Story Books and serves soft-serve acai with no refined sugar.
Linked By Mint, 29 Monmouth Street. This permanent jewelry and charm bar, which also has a Long Branch shop, opened across the street and is planning a schedule of workshops.
At 19 Monmouth Street, Red Bank Green reported that Surf's Up Coffee & Candle has closed and that Julia's Coffee Company has been advertised as coming soon.
Put together, the season looks like this, from publication day through mid-December:
Nearly every item on that list after the farmers market happens indoors. Last year's TownLighting with Holiday Express took place on November 28, 2025. Watch redbank.org for the 2026 date.
Two more projects will land after the holidays. Victor and Jake Rallo's Rallo Alimentari & Focacceria, an all-day Milanese-style cafe and restaurant, is planned for the former gas station at 187 Riverside Avenue. It is targeting an early 2027 opening. Red Bank Green also reported that California Closets has signed for retail space in the former Danny's Steak House at 11 Bridge Avenue, with an opening projected for spring. Danny's liquor license now pours at the Lobby Bar, and its old building is getting a new tenant.
If you're planning November around the Basie's birthday and want to talk about how Red Bank's busier downtown fits into your own plans, Jillian Abbadessa knows these blocks well. Let's Connect.
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