Home Sweet Home, owned by Ralph and Janice Cocchi, has been selling affordably priced home décor and accessories in Verona for the past 14 years but recently decided it was time for a change. The antique shop recently moved a few doors down and doubled its space, leaving 298 Bloomfield Ave. as a vacant space. The location is right at the corners of Bloomfield Avenue and Malvern Place, with plenty of parking just across the street near 7-Eleven and Anthony Robert Salon and just a short drive from the intersection of Bloomfield and Pompton avenues. Ralph Cocchi said he does not yet know what he…

For two years, the Hobcaw Cafe in Verona served up fresh, Southern-inspired food. In September 2012 the popular cafe closed its doors for good. The cafe, located at 20 Grove Ave. in Verona, is situated in a small strip mall just off of Bloomfield Avenue surrounded by Tortilla Sunrise and Krauser's deli as its neighbors. So this is where you come in, Verona and Cedar Grove community. The concept behind this column is we’ll present a vacant building and ask you to tell us what you think would be the best use of the vacant space. Here's the fun part: Forget what zone it’s in. Ignore setback …

In a large strip center on Route 23 in Verona, the sign atop an enormous 46,492-square-foot retail space remains blank. Mandee, a clothing store, most recently occupied the space at 340 Pompton Ave. The large, empty lot sits amid big retailers like King’s Supermarket, Platinum Fitness, Staples, Party Fair, and Annie Sez. The old Blockbuster, which was next-door to Mandee, was also closed for a period of time, leaving two vacant spaces next to each other. However in April, Platinum Fitness expanded into the Blockbuster space. There is one more vacant space in the Pilgrim Plaza shopping center…

Situated on Bloomfield Avenue just near the intersection of Prospect and Pompton avenues is a vacant retail space on a 1.6-acre lot. The building, which was formerly Verona Acura, is an apt space for a vehicle-related business, given its large parking lot and 31,815 square feet of available building space. At 142 Bloomfield Ave., a new business would take advantage of the traffic from the corner’s busy intersection, as well as from its proximity to several businesses across the street and in a neighboring strip mall. Although currently vacant, the owner, Jeffery Realty, Inc., is flexible in …

In a small strip mall near the end of Verona and the beginning of North Caldwell sits two retail locations that have been vacant for a little over a year. The 500-square-foot spaces, both with large front windows and an inset door, are located at 709 and 713 Bloomfield Ave., and used to be Windfall Auctions and Lola’s Alterations, respectively. Lola's Alterations has not closed and, in fact, the store has moved larger quarters at 707 Bloomfield Ave. Since the eBay drop store and tailoring shop closed, Saveur Gourmet Cheese Shop and J Nails remain the only two stores open in the strip mall, …

Just 50 yards from the Welcome to Verona sign at the intersection of Bloomfield and Pompton avenues, sits an old auto body shop that has been vacant for several years. The 8,112-square-foot building with four bays, is located in the jug-handle from Bloomfield Avenue at 15 Pompton Ave., and is in a prime location for any business to move in. A new business would be able to take advantage of all commuter traffic from both Bloomfield and Pompton avenues, across the street from Famous Ray's Pizza, an Exxon Station and a Subway. In the past few years though, there have been no signs of any …

A storefront is vacant in the same plaza where, coincidentally, the new Buy Rite Liquors has its grand opening today. The 1,860 square-foot property, located at 406 Pompton Ave. in Cedar Grove, has sat vacant in the two-year-old Cedar Grove Plaza since it was built in 2010. With the Oasis Spa, Bottega Salon and Younique Yoga, the Cedar Grove Plaza is a prime location for any new business to move into to add some more spa treatment or just some convenience to the town.  Even with Buy Rite Liquors opening in the largest storefront, building manger Punam Bhargava said there are no businesses …

A restaurant with a capacity for 275 people sits vacant at 30 Pompton Ave. The property, vacant since 2010, is where the the Italian restaurant Rome used to serve food. Before that, Giambotta occupied the 8,400-square-foot space with two bars and liquor license.  But now that space, next to the Pilgrim Diner at 82 Pompton Ave. and across fro Pilgrim Plaza, is for sale. No progress appears to have been made to open a new eatery, as the sign for Rome is still up. Property owner Loopnet Realtors were unavailable for comment. So this is where you come in, Verona and Cedar Grove community. The …

In the strip mall at 555 Pompton Ave. in Cedar Grove, a 14,000-square-foot business storefront has been available for lease since Eye Classsique moved out in late 2011. The lease space sits in the center of the five business 50-year-old complex, where the original Cedar Grove Post Office used to be. Renovated in the last eight years, the storefront is in between Time Warp Comics and a UPS Store and it’s the only business spot available for lease. In a prime location in the town of Cedar Grove, right past Giuseppe’s Pizza, but it is still for lease said the maintaining restate company, The …

The site of the former Verona Inn, located at 141 Bloomfield Ave., has been vacant since it closed in June 2009.The building, tucked behind Hardbodz Fitness, is near the Exxon station where Bloomfield Avenue crosses Route 23.  The Inn attracted a crowd similar to Club 4Sixty6 in West Orange at night and still, for some, it was a preferred place to watch Sunday football. Yet, it had the same fate as Red Cheetah on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. From the outside, no progress has been seen to clean up to bar or renovate for reopening, although the owners were unavailable for contact.  This is …