RiverCenter's 2026 plan for the Red Bank Town Lighting starts on Bridge Avenue. Santa and Mrs. Claus appear first at Edmund Wilson Plaza, 1 Bridge Avenue, between Triumph Brewing and Two River Theater. A parade then heads up Monmouth Street to the lighting on Broad Street.
That parade route also works as a map of the whole season. This fall the biggest additions to downtown Red Bank opened along Monmouth Street, from the 200 block to the Broad Street corner. The Count Basie Center's holiday run sits in the middle of that stretch at 99 Monmouth. For a night out between now and New Year's, dinner, a show and dessert can all happen on one street.
The 200 Block Finished Its Ground Floor in September
The west end changed the most. Red Bank Green reported in late September that The Lobby Bar had opened inside the Anderson Building at 200 Monmouth Street. The outlet called it the final piece of the ground-floor remake of the century-old former warehouse. Culture Collective Hospitality Group, headed by Chris Viola, took over the space after the grocer Sickles closed and turned it into a food hall called Anderson Market.
Anderson Market's vendor page now lists seven food and bar operations under one roof:
- The Lobby
- Studio Omakase
- Booskerdoo Coffee
- A butcher
- Local 130 Seafood
- Little Andy's
- Seoul BBQ
Little Andy's is the newest name on the list. The Asbury Park Press reported in September that the burger spot was taking over from Namkeen Hot Chicken, and the market now lists it with online ordering.
The Lobby changes over the course of the day. Culture Collective's press release, quoted by Red Bank Green, describes a fresh juice and made-to-order smoothie counter by day that "becomes a cocktail and aperitivo bar" in the evening, with low and no-ABV drinks on the menu. The Lobby's own page lists a daily Aperitivo Hour from 3 to 6 p.m. and vinyl DJs Thursday through Sunday. The market doesn't publish regular hours for the rest of the hall, so check the individual vendor pages before you go.
The Omakase Counter Sets the Pace for a Show Night
Studio Omakase is a separate room next to The Lobby. Red Bank Green quoted Chef Steven Wong calling it "the first omakase in Red Bank." His background runs through New York and Miami counters, including Moko Omakase, Sushi Noz, Nobu and MEGU, and he once owned Nouveau Sushi in Montclair.
The Studio Omakase booking page lays out how it works. The meal is a 12-course tasting that takes about 90 minutes at a 14-seat counter. There are four seatings a night, Wednesday through Sunday. The price starts at $108 per person, plus a 20% gratuity, a 3% processing fee and 6.625% tax. Reservations are prepaid. Cancel more than 48 hours before your seating and you get a full refund. Inside 48 hours they are non-refundable.
The fixed 90 minutes and prepaid seats make the counter easy to plan around a 7:30 curtain. They also mean it doesn't fit every night on the holiday calendar.
The Basie's December Fits Between the Two Ends
Two River Theater at 21 Bridge Avenue is running STIR from October 31 through November 22, 2026. Its 2026/27 mainstage lineup, as reported by Patch in March, has no December production and resumes in March 2027. That leaves December's show nights to the Count Basie Center for the Arts holiday calendar at 99 Monmouth Street.
| Date | Day | Show | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 17 | Tuesday | A Drag Queen Christmas | 7:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 19 | Thursday | Love Actually in Concert | 7:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 28 | Saturday | A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live on Stage! | Noon and 4 p.m. |
| Dec. 6 | Sunday | Cirque Musica: Holiday Wonderland | 5 p.m. |
| Dec. 6 | Sunday | Everett Bradley's Holidelic | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 11–13 | Friday–Sunday | The Nutcracker | See listing |
| Dec. 15 | Tuesday | Holiday Express | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 18 | Friday | Home for the Holidays Starring That Motown Band | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 19 | Saturday | Brian Kirk & the Jirks | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 20 | Sunday | Chris Pinnella: Christmas in Red Bank | 2 and 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 23 | Wednesday | Darlene Love | 7:30 p.m. |
Set against the omakase schedule, the calendar sorts itself out. The two Tuesday shows, A Drag Queen Christmas on November 17 and Holiday Express on December 15, fall on nights the counter is dark. Holiday Express plays the Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre on the Basie campus, with doors at 6:30 p.m. and the show at 7:30. On those nights, The Lobby's 3-to-6 Aperitivo Hour or one of the market counters is the pre-show option on the 200 block.
Love Actually in Concert on Thursday, November 19, the Friday and Saturday shows on December 18 and 19, and Darlene Love on Wednesday, December 23, all land on omakase nights. An early seating at the counter followed by a 7:30 curtain down the street is possible on each of those dates. The Sunday doubles work the same way. Chris Pinnella's 2 p.m. matinee on December 20 leaves the evening free for a seating, and on December 6 the 5 p.m. Cirque Musica show ends before the dinner hour.
Toward Broad Street, the New Stops Are Small and Quick
East of the Basie, the fall openings are small, quick stops. Red Bank Green's September retail roundup reported that Reves Smooth & Acaí Cafe had held its grand opening at 42 Monmouth Street, next to Crazy Story Books. It is the second location for husband-and-wife owners Sebastian Balk and Cynthia Noack, and the menu covers soft-serve acai with no refined sugars, smoothies, pitaya bowls and coffee. Nearly across the street at 29 Monmouth, Linked By Mint opened as a permanent jewelry and charm bar. It already has a Long Branch location and an events schedule of its own.
At the corner, Red Bank Green reported Insomnia Cookies opening at 6–8 Monmouth Street, an address also given as 74 Broad Street, with Froyolicious newly open at 43 Broad Street. Put together, a Basie night can now start at the 200 block and end with dessert at Broad Street without leaving Monmouth Street.
Small Business Saturday puts these shops to work. RiverCenter's 2026 packet lists a Red Bank Bucks giveaway on November 28 of 200 digital gift cards, with sponsors thanked by the MC at the Town Lighting that same evening.
November 28 Is When the Whole Street Comes Into Play
Holiday lights and decorations are scheduled downtown from November 27, 2026 through January 6, 2027. The packet ties the Town Lighting to November 28, the same Saturday as the Basie's two Charlie Brown performances. RiverCenter hasn't posted 2026 start times yet. Here is what last year's 2025 listings on redbank.org showed. The two time windows overlapped, and the parade connected them:
- Pre-show at Edmund Wilson Plaza with Santa and Mrs. Claus, listed 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
- Parade from the plaza up Monmouth Street toward Broad Street.
- Town Lighting event on Broad Street, listed 6 to 8 p.m.
The 2026 packet keeps that sequence, with the Christmas tree at Riverside Gardens Park and sponsor messages on a video screen on Broad Street. If the timing holds, a family could see the 4 p.m. Charlie Brown show, walk west for the plaza pre-show and then follow the parade back east. Confirm the 2026 times on redbank.org before planning around them.
The season goes on after that weekend. Holiday Harmonies is scheduled from November 28 through December 27, 2026, and a Downtown Red Bank Holiday Trolley is planned for two December weekends. The 2026 trolley dates haven't been announced. Last year it ran December 6, 7, 13 and 14, from noon to 4 p.m., with a stop on Bridge Avenue in front of Triumph Brewing and Two River Theater. If it follows that pattern, the trolley would stop at the same west-end spot where the parade begins.
If December has you thinking about what a home near downtown Red Bank, within walking distance of all this, is worth, The Tully Group can help. We track Red Bank block by block, from the Bridge Avenue end to Broad Street, and we can put real numbers behind that question. Get your free home valuation and market plan.
