(Mark Your Calendars: RealShare New Jersey takes place Sept. 13 in New Brunswick, NJ)
FLORHAM PARK, NJ-Despite a continuing strength in trophy office properties and even a comeback in fine dining, there is still a long way to go for New Jersey’s recovery, business leaders said at a fundraising event for the Community FoodBank of NJ, held at the Park Avenue at Morris County office complex here.
The event, a cook-off between Chef James Laird of Restaurant Serenade in Chatham and Chef Kate Orlando, cafeteria chef at 100 Campus Drive, was sponsored by property owner KBS Realty and CB Richard Ellis, the complex’s leasing agent.
The day after a massive stock market sell-off, participants expressed overall confidence. In fact, business at his restaurant was better than usual last night, Laird reported. “We picked up 30%,” Laird says. “Business is weird but not that bad.”
During the downturn, the restaurant offered special menus to offer value, bringing in customers who have continued to patronize the 15-year-old restaurant. Nor will commercial real estate in the state suffer from the market plunge in the wake of the debt crisis and uncertainty in Europe, says Greg Barkan, CBRE senior VP.
“These kinds of gyrations don’t have an immediate impact,” Barkan tells GlobeSt.com, noting that real estate is a lagging indicator. “It could disrupt a deal already in progress. A company with a long-term vision will move forward despite these conditions. Is this a long-term cyclical shift? Or is this a little panic based on the S&P and Europe? That’s the question.”
But even this volatile recovery has not spread to all, noted Rich Uniacke, director of marketing for the FoodBank. In the past, the FoodBank helped some 500,000 people monthly. That has soared to 900,000 monthly in recent years. “The main thing we’re seeing in the past few years is more and more families,” Uniacke says. “The hungry are our neighbors.”
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