Two Sevens opens
Two Sevens, the much anticipated addition to Jim Nawn’s Princeton restaurant portfolio, opened in mid-December at 277 Witherspoon Street. The Mexican-inspired menu offers tacos, salads, small plates, and grilled options. Most importantly, the restaurant has a full bar. twosevensrestaurant.com.
Healthy meets sweet
New in town is the Salad & Smoothie Market at 6 Spring Street, where the Frame Shoppe had been. Accessible from both Spring Street and Hinds Plaza, the eatery offers salads and smoothies up front and, for a little indulgence, an old-fashioned candy shop in back. For more: thesaladandsmoothiemarket.com or thecandyshoppeprinceton.com.
CoolVines to close
After 10 years in Princeton wine and spirits store CoolVines will be closing early this year, with owner Mark Censits leaving his Spring Street space to pursue new stores in Jersey City and Newark.
In a letter to the editor printed in the Princeton Packet, Censits noted: “You helped me personally connect to this amazing town in a meaningful and substantive way. It offered me the opportunity I was looking for — to be part of the local business community, to participate in many fund-raising collaborations with the Library, The Arts Council, Sustainable Princeton, Corner House and other organizations that are helping to make this town better every day.”
But, he added: “We have seen some changes on ‘Main Street’ in Princeton. The businesses that are now thriving most are those who serve the strong visitors and tourist traffic, and the ones — like us — who depend mostly on the resident population, are at best flat. Too many empty spaces on Nassau Street and Palmer Square attest to this. I’ve commiserated with my fellow business owners who rely on this same core of residential customers and all are feeling the impact.”
