Business & Tech

Orange Building on 'Year of the Restaurant'

The town is experiencing a surge in economic activity and new restaurants are playing a big part.

Of the 23 new businesses that opened in town in 2011, a full 30% of them were restaurants. The activity was so pronounced when the town reviewed the statistics that it led Paul Grimmer, executive director of the Orange Economic Development Corp., to dub 2011 "The Year of the Restaurant."

"We had a lot of closures but we had even more open," Grimmer said Monday speaking from his office on Orange Center Road.

The new restaurants are part of a trend the town is experiencing that suggests an economic rebound after nearly three years of depressed growth brought on by the Great Recession in 2008-2009.

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Paul Dinice, the zoning administrator and enforcement officer, said he too has noticed an increase in applications. "Restaurants have not slowed down," he said.

2012 is also looking to be a good year for business in Orange, Grimmer said, pointing to the health of small businesses and positive trends in the town's vacancy rate (We'll take a look at that in a story tomorrow).

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Here is a list of the new businesses that opened in 2011:

  • Abate Pizza
  • Andini's
  • Constellation Healthcare
  • Discount Fabrics
  • Harbor Freight Tools
  • Hungry Howie's
  • iSpa
  • Jamba Juice
  • Joanne's Nails
  • Plato's Closet
  • Quest Diagnostics
  • Smoking Gun Research Association
  • The Hibachi Grill
  • Tracey's Smoke Shop

And here are the businesses that closed in 2011:

  • Galleria Furniture
  • Hungry Howie's
  • Mark Barry's Restaurant
  • Roni Deutch Tax Center

What is your favorite new business and which one will you miss the most?

[Editor's note: This article was updated to remove Kaoud Real Estate from the list of closed businesses provided by the Orange Economic Development Corp. Kaoud is still in business.]


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