Hoboken's Longtime Shops Are Giving Up the Storefront, Not the Business

Danny De Congelio announced on social media that Stan's Sports Center would close its storefront because the space was going to be listed for rent. He told Patch he wanted people to know the facts before they saw the listing. The shop at 528 Washington Street opened in 1946. Two brothers-in-law who had just come home from World War II started it, and one of them, Peter Stanich, gave it his name.

The owners closed their announcement with a line that sums up a lot of what is happening in Hoboken this fall: "The storefront is closing. Stan's is moving forward."

Read on its own, the season looks like a list of farewells. Stan's after 80 years, Flo on Wheels after 39, Creative Interiors after 23, and Lisa's Deli dark behind paper. Look at what each business is actually doing, though, and the pattern is narrower. The counters are going. The customers, the service work and in one case the name itself are being kept.

Eighty Years on Washington Street, and the Team Orders Stay

Stan's has dressed Hoboken's athletes in uniforms and handed them trophies for eight decades. The family is keeping the part of the business built on those relationships. De Congelio told Patch that the company will keep working with teams, schools and other clients. Running the storefront had stopped making sense. The family owns the building, and his son Daniel took over the business in January.

The company's message from its CEO is blunter. Existing orders, online stores, programs and customer relationships stay the same, and "for our customers, it is business as usual." Its primary address is now 91 Fulton Street in Boonton. The Stan's website lists team stores, local pickup and delivery, a phone line at 973-917-4913 and [email protected].

As of nj.com's September 3 report, the Washington Street store was still open, with no closing date set. If your kid's league orders through Stan's, nothing about that changes. The only thing in question is the door on Washington Street.

The owners explained why in their own post, as quoted by Patch: "The city has changed. The sporting goods industry has changed. The way people shop has changed." They also asked people to support the local businesses they love while those businesses are still around.

The Bike Shop Outgrew Its Room

Flo on Wheels at 1222 Washington Street tells the same story with more detail. The shop set October 31 as its last day uptown. Owner Flo Hernandez told Patch the lease was ending and the shop needed more space. Its message to customers, which Patch published, gives the reason directly:

"While the retail end of our business diminishes due to online competition, our service side is flourishing. Our current location is too small to accommodate these changes."

That message also lists cargo bikes, larger commuter bikes, trikes and scooters as things the shop wants to sell and service but can't fit in its Hoboken space. For now the business is moving to its second location at 604 60th Street in West New York, a space the shop says is four times bigger. Free lifetime service on bikes bought in Hoboken will be honored there. The shop has partnered with Lalamove for pickup and delivery in Hoboken, Jersey City, Weehawken, Union City and nearby towns. Hernandez also pointed out that the Union City light rail stop is an 11-block walk from the West New York shop.

The owners say they will keep looking for a larger Hoboken space and hope to find one by spring. This shop is leaving because it is growing, and the room it had stopped fitting the work.

Lisa's Deli Keeps the Name and Changes Hands

At 901 Park Avenue, the business stays and the people running it change. Lisa's Deli opened in December 1971, founded by Pietro and Caterina Lisa. It became known for a long hoagie and sandwich menu and for house-made mozzarella, and it took part in Hoboken Mutz Fest for more than ten years. Hoboken Girl reported on October 22 that Nick Rutigliani, a co-owner of Otto Strada, and his partner Dante Amato have taken over from the Lisa family. They are keeping the Lisa's Deli name.

Rutigliani told Hoboken Girl that the closing of Losurdo's, another longtime Hoboken Italian deli, was on his mind. "We know Lisa's is a landmark in Hoboken; why not keep it going?" he said. Losurdo Brothers at 410 2nd Street served its last day on December 8, 2024, after what the family called 50 years serving Hoboken, as TAPinto reported at the time.

The old menu had more than 300 items. The new one will be shorter and built around meatballs, chicken cutlets, chicken parm, fresh rice balls, soups, sandwiches and house-made mutz. The owners are aiming to reopen in January 2027 but have not confirmed a date. Like Flo on Wheels, Lisa's is shrinking its range to keep the core. Here the core is mozzarella and sandwiches. At the bike shop it is repair work.

Where Each One Went

Creative Interiors is the one where the next chapter is still unclear. The home furnishings and interior design showroom announced a fall closure after 23 years. Its sale on in-stock inventory started October 21, with hours Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. Hoboken Girl reported that no final day had been announced.

The Closures That Fit a Different Pattern

Not every dark window this fall is a business moving its work somewhere else. Chip City Cookies at 113 Washington Street closed at the end of business on October 1, when the chain shut all of its stores, according to Hoboken Girl. Sun Tan City at 55 14th Street closed for good on September 14, and Beach Bum said it would honor memberships at its stores at 416 and 602 Washington Street, Patch reported. Maroons, the ice cream shop at 1122 Washington Street known for big sundaes and shakes, closed earlier in October. Its co-owner told Patch the partners hope to find another Hoboken location and will keep their Ridgewood shop open.

So even among the departures, two of the operators are still looking for a way back into Hoboken.

The New Arrivals Already Had a Business

The fall's openings show the same logic running the other way. Most of the new storefronts belong to businesses that already had customers somewhere else:

• Sober Shot, 1200 Washington Street, open by August 28. It is the second location of the Jersey City cafe founded by Stella Lin, known for sparkling espresso drinks and matcha. Hoboken Girl
• Dän Bakery + Cafe, 500 Washington Street, open by September 8. It is the Morristown bakery's second location, with coffee, pastries, breads and savory items. Hoboken Girl
• Uncorked Wines, 1450 Washington Street, held its grand opening September 12 in the former Cork Wine and Spirits space, so the corner kept its wine shop. Patch
• Studio & Story, 629 Washington Street, held its grand opening September 12. Longtime Hoboken resident Susan Beth's boutique sells personalized gifts, apparel and home goods, with rotating work by local artists. Hoboken Girl
• Bricks & Minifigs, 900 Monroe Street, opened September 19. Hoboken resident Matt Power runs this LEGO resale shop, which hosts parties and building clubs along with buying and trading. Patch

Two of the five arrived as second locations. One kept its corner's existing purpose. Two are run by people who already live here. Bricks & Minifigs plans its calendar around clubs and parties, which is service work that shopping online can't replace. That is the same thing Flo on Wheels said is keeping its business going.

For Flo's customers, free service now happens on 60th Street in West New York. League orders still run through Stan's, and the new owners at Lisa's are aiming for January.

If you're thinking about how ground-floor retail on these blocks affects the value of the building above it, Alena Ciccarelli is glad to walk through it with you. Arrange a Viewing.