Welcome to the New Owners of Vanilla Bean Creamery!

This past Saturday, Downtown Cranford Director Caren Demyen, Mayor Brian Andrews, Township Commissioner and Downtown liaison Kathleen Miller Prunty, and DMC Board members held a ribbon cutting to officially welcome the new owners of Cranford Vanilla Bean Creamery! Congratulations to Sherri, Mike, and their young daughters on this new (very delicious) endeavor. Sherri and Mike were Cranford residents from 2014-2020 before moving to Westfield, and have a special place in their heart for Cranford Vanilla Bean Creamery. When they originally met with Ralph, Mike proudly showed him the large stack of Vanilla Bean Creamery punch cards their family has collected over the past few years.

Mike and Sherri knew they would need Ralph’s guidance to make sure that Vanilla Bean Creamery would continue to put out the high quality ice cream it’s been known for. To that end, Ralph has been sharing his original recipes with them and teaching them how to make ice cream. “My one piece of advice for them is consistency,” said Ralph. “It’s what Vanilla Bean Creamery is known for, and what keeps bringing customers back.”

Ralph will be around for the next few weeks, assisting Mike and Sherri in any way he can. Vanilla Bean Creamery is open 7 days a week so stop in to wish Ralph well and welcome Mike and Sherri!

Update for Spring Hop Participants!

We wanted to update you on pick up times for totes:

  • Friday 3/22 - 3pm-6pm at the Municipal Building - 8 Springfield Avenue (park in the back parking lot and enter through the Health Department door.  The DMC Office is room 17 right around the corner.

  • Saturday 3/23 - 11am-4pm at Martin Jewelers (12 North Avenue West).  Come through Lot 7 to the lower lot.  You can park right behind the store to run in to pick up your tote.

  • Monday 3/24-Tuesday 3/25 8:30am-4:30pm at the Municipal Building - 8 Springfield Avenue (park in the back parking lot and enter through the Health Department door.  The DMC Office is room 17 right around the corner. 

 Businesses have offered participants to stop by at their convenience throughout the week to pick up eggs between Saturday 3/23- Saturday 3/30.  We are also open to you adjusting your time slot on Saturday if there is a window that the weather is clear.  The map will include everyone’s store hours so you can plan accordingly. We appreciate your understanding as we have tried to come up with a solution for the potential weather on the horizon. As stated in the registration, there are no refunds for this event.

 If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our office – dmc@cranfordnj.org or 908.709.7208.  

Order Tickets for the 2024 Spring Hop in Downtown Cranford!

The Spring Hop is in less than two weeks so don't forget to order your tickets! This year's Spring Hop takes place on Saturday, March 23, and you can purchase tickets for the 12-2pm or 2-4pm time slot. Children will be able to pick up eggs at 20+ downtown businesses and every participant will also win a Golden Egg! Registered participants can pick up bags starting at 11:45am the day of the event at Eastman Clock Plaza. Everyone had so much fun at last year's Spring Hop - you don't want to miss this!

Tote bags cost $12 and can be ordered through Eventbrite here!

Thousands of Visitors Turned Out for Fire & Ice in Downtown Cranford!

We had the biggest turnout yet for Fire & Ice on March 3rd! We're sure the beautiful weather helped! Visitors enjoyed fire breathers, live ice carving, face painting, temporary tattoos, a balloon artist, and wings from 15 of our Downtown Cranford restaurants. Thank you to the restaurant owners who did a terrific job serving so many hungry customers without breaking a sweat.

15 restaurants competed to be crowned 2024's King of the Wing, but there can only be one winner. Congratulations to this year's champion, Urban Burger Cranford! Owner Ricot Jean Baptiste accepted the trophy, which he promises to display in a place of prominence. During Fire & Ice, Urban Burger served up Cajun Hot Honey wings, which were so popular that they'll be added to the regular menu.

"I'm so proud of our effort yesterday, and very happy for the staff," said Ricot. "It was extremely busy yesterday and this is a great recognition of how hard everyone worked."

Thank you to all of the restaurants who participated in King of the Wing! We appreciate your support of our events and look forward to seeing if Urban Burger can defend their title next year!

This Sunday is Fire & Ice in Downtown Cranford!

Fire & Ice is this Sunday! Spend the afternoon in Downtown Cranford seeing ice carvers and fire breathers, while also enjoying wings from the 16 restaurants competing to be King of the Wing! Thank you to our event sponsor, Brighton Air Corp!

Here is the schedule of events taking place between 1-4PM:

·       Live Ice Carving: Cranford Hotel, River & Rail Cantina

·       Fire Breathers: Eastman Clock Plaza

·       Face Painting: Fire Me Up Studio

·       Balloon Artist: Magick Manor

·       Temporary Tattoos: Max & Luna

·       King of the Wing Competition: Vote by scanning the QR code at participating locations

·       Complimentary S'mores & Hot Cocoa: Eastman Clock Plaza. Please bring a donation for Cranford Family Care!

There will also be ice carvings placed throughout Downtown Cranford!