In what have been challenging times for bricks-and-mortar retail establishments, Princeton has seen a few recent bright spots.
Homestead Princeton, the home furnishings and design store that first opened on Hulfish Street in 2012, has moved its operations to the former Princeton Packet building at 300 Witherspoon Street. A grand re-opening celebration took place Sept. 20.
In a 2017 profile in the Princeton Echo, co-owner Ron Menapace noted that centuries-old barns and houses live on in wood used the custom-made tables or chairs sold at the store. “We’re interested in a timeless style,” he said.
So it’s fitting that Homestead’s new home, which has been rehabilitated and reimagined, once housed a newspaper that traces its origins to 1786.
“Repurposing this building celebrates Homestead Princeton’s legacy of salvaging lumber from historic structures to make our signature barnwood furniture,” co-owner Kristin Menapace said in a recent statement. “As Princetonians, we are proud to revive this storied building and we’re elated to call it our new home.”
Homestead Princeton, 300 Witherspoon Street. Open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m to 4 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Phone: 609-688-0777.
Also bucking the trend of closing and struggling stores is Princeton Convenience, which celebrated its grand opening on Nassau Street last month. It was the first ribbon cutting for Princeton mayor Liz Lempert since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The store, which will carry food, drinks, phone chargers, and other essential items, is located at 148 Nassau Street and owned by Saeed Ishaq.
For more than 50 years, that storefront belonged to Ricchard’s Shoes, which opened in 1966. But the shoe store shut its doors at the beginning of the pandemic and in May announced that it would not reopen.
Princeton Convenience, 148 Nassau Street. Open Sunday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m to 10 p.m. 609-285-5107.
