Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market announces first retail, brick & mortar location
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Like many small businesses in both NJ and beyond, the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market (TPRFM) was forced to think out of the box after the Covid-19 pandemic forced one of the State’s most celebrated cultural and creative festivals to postpone several events last year.
During that time, TPRFM owner and founder, Joseph Kuzemka, decided to reevaluate the business model he built and consistently came back to one conclusion… it was time to add to his arsenal of offerings and finally bring the brick and mortar location TPRFM fans and patrons had been longing after for years, to life. The natural home for this new lifestyle shop and offbeat boutique was one of his favorite places in the greater Trenton area: the 73-year old Trenton Farmers Market in neighboring Lawrence, NJ.
Teaming up with his long-time life partner, Meaghan Callahan Singletary, of the Trenton Downtown Association (TDA), the TPRFM will leverage the relationships they’ve forged throughout the years with thousands of small businesses, artists and makers from around the country to develop Out Of Step: Offbeat Boutique & General Store. The projected opening date for the first TPRFM retail, brick and mortar location is September 2021.
“Since 2013, the TPRFM has served as an incubator, of sorts, for thousands of small businesses, artists and makers from dozens of states by providing many home-based businesses with a high volume, retail outlet that regularly attracts thousands of eager shoppers per day. This is an incredible chance to work with many of those same small businesses and now provide them a brick and mortar home that will not only help those businesses continue to thrive, but will hopefully serve as an inspiration for more creatives and like-minded individuals to make the leap into creating their own small business. It can be done. The TPRFM and Out of Step are both concrete proof of that. That’s something I’m incredibly proud of” said Kuzemka.
Shining a primary spotlight on handmade and locally-made items from small businesses and your favorite Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market vendors, Out Of Step will include a heavy focus on locally-made, shelf-stable, pre-packaged, specialty foods such as locally-made sauces (hot, bbq etc), jams and jellies, pickles, coffee and tea, peanut butter, select spices, jerky and more as well as refillable home items like hand sanitizer and hand soap which will be paired with uncommon, handmade and locally made gift items like handmade bath & body products, housewares and home décor, cooking/kitchen-related items, repurposed/recycled art, select custom t-shirt’s and hoodies created by local artists, locally crafted original artwork and sculptures from local and regional artists, oddities and curious goods, vintage curio, handmade jewelry and more with a small portion of the store dedicated to both local and nationally recognized music that will focus on a carefully curated selection of new and used vinyl records and cassettes, VHS cassettes and more.
For Singletary, who has more than a decade of experience in high-end retail management and merchandising, this is an exciting new venture, “After leaving the retail industry many years ago, it’s exciting to come back to a project that has so much potential. Working with many of the small businesses that the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market has cultivated over the past several years, businesses that TPRFM fans (including myself) have come to know and love, is an amazing opportunity. It is important to prioritize small businesses, watch them grow their brand and all while offering something different, fresh and fun to the Trenton Farmers Market,” she said.
Chris Cirkus , Market Manager of the Trenton Farmers Market is especially excited about the new addition to the legendary open air market as she states, "The Trenton Farmers Market is a 73-year old institution on Spruce Street in Lawrence. We've been elevating what a year-round indoor farmers market looks like....farmer members of our cooperative who highlight what grows here in New Jersey, tenants and daily renters with an amazing assortment of global food, clothing, jewelry, and more. Joe and Meaghan are legends around curating a wide and diverse variety of artisan products, and we can't wait to see their collective vision for Out of Step come to life. They're the perfect fit for this next chapter of the Market!"
Out Of Step: Offbeat Boutique & General Store is scheduled to open in the space formerly occupied by the Amish Country Store in the North End of the Market with a projected opening date of September 2021. The Trenton Farmers Market is located at 960 Spruce Street in Lawrenceville, NJ.
For more information please visit www.outopfstepnj.com or www.trentonpunkrockfleamarket.com.
