Farm, salon, and pub — 3 must-visit Union County, NJ small businesses

As you know, my wife Jodi and I are touring the state from top to bottom meeting thousands of people from North to South and Central to the Shore. The goal is to have a face-to-face conversation about the common sense solutions that will help us turn New Jersey around.

There are three pillars of the solution, empowering parents, encouraging small businesses, and standing up for law enforcement. The crowds are getting bigger at each stop and it's a great opportunity for me to use the power of the microphone and our largest in the state reach to highlight some of the great small businesses, which employ nearly two million New Jerseyans, around the state.

This Monday we spent some time in Union County.

Our first stop was Prince's Farm Stand in Mountainside.

Owned by Heather and Tom Murphy, this family business was a product of the original family farm stated by Heather's great grandparents who started a family farm in 1900. Lotta history, great local and healthy products (try the popcorn, no seed oil!), and a staff that is welcoming and professional.

The couple's daughters, Paige and Peyton, also work at the family business and make you feel like you're a part of the family. One of the policies we need to implement in addition to dramatically cutting business taxes is to incentivize local farm stands to continue to offer fresh products from local farms. We'll start by legalizing raw milk, cream, and cheese.

Then we dropped in to say hi to our new friends at Salon Bangles in Springfield.

Owner Kristin Damiano credits her mom with starting the business and she, like the Prince's Farm Stand team, is surrounded by family and great history.

The salon survived the absurdity of the lockdowns and is finally surging back toward revenue goals. One of the challenges Kristin faces is the high number of hairstylists working in homes and staying away from storefronts. This clear result of terrible and destructive government mandates can be addressed in a positive way.

Policy objectives include creating a tax incentive for salons to hire recent high school graduates. The incentive should apply to both workers and owners. Can be implemented in the form of a subsidized vocational/trade school with a commitment to the world locally.

Special should out to Kristin's mom Joan and the kids and grandkids, Morrison, Presley, and Nova. Morrison is an aspiring guitarist and did a great job performing on a demo tape he gave me at the event. Congrats Morrison, you could be the next Eddie Van Halen!

Our third stop in Union County was at a great go-to restaurant and bar, Darby Road Pub in Scotch Plains.

Great place, with great beer, and great food. So good to see so many friends at the meeting organized by Maria Moloney who leads the local Concerned Parents Coalition of Scotch Plains and Fanwood. The best part of the group is that it transcends party lines, with plenty of Democrats and independents on hand along with Republicans.

All moms, dads, and small business owners looking for solutions to the major problems plaguing the Garden State. Joe and John own the pub and I appreciate that Joe stopped in to say hello.

Also, on hand was my buddy John Pearce from Hyundai of Trenton and Joe Nitti and the team from CRP in Edison.

Want to see your county highlighted? Your local business empowered by publicity to the largest audience in the state? Hit us up on the free NJ 101.5 app and we'll try to get you on the schedule!

Next stop, Monmouth County at Town and County Inn in Keyport on Thursday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. It's a free event!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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