Delicious Orchards potential new opportunity in Little Silver, NJ

Should Delicious Orchards consider expanding its popular New Jersey market? You know the place. It's right off of State Route 34 between State Route 18 and County Route 537 in Colts Neck in Monmouth County.

Not only do they have top-notch produce, but the market itself is considered one of the best in The Garden State. It's one of the reasons why their parking lot floods with cars with people traveling from all corners of the state.

But enough about how great the store is. I'm really hoping the owners of Delicious Orchards are paying attention to what's happening just east of them.

It's actually very sad news that led to this situation, but one nonetheless that Delicious Orchards could potentially take advantage of. What if Delicious Orchards were to take over operations at the now-shuttered Sickles Market in Little Silver, NJ?

An unfortunate situation

According to Patch, "The original Sickles Market in Little Silver has now filed for bankruptcy" in addition to filing Chapter 11 for its now-shuttered Bottles by Sickles store in Red Bank.

It's a very unfortunate turn of events for a 116-year-old family-owned business. According to Patch, "Sickles said they owe an estimated $7.5 million to up to 49 creditors for their food market" in Little Silver, and $5.2 million at their Red Bank wine and liquor location.

Since the closings, additional vendors have also sued Sickles claiming they're owed millions. The Little Silver property owned by the family is reportedly worth $10.4 million in assets but has a $4.4 million claim against it.

A potential opportunity

It's still unclear if Sickles will reopen under current ownership. However, should they choose to or be forced to liquidate, it opens up a prime opportunity for Delicious Orchards to swoop in and take over operations.

Not only would a company like Delicious Orchards be welcomed in Little Silver, it would be a great opportunity for them to expand east. And, it's far enough away from their original Colts Neck location where it wouldn't be an issue of spreading yourself too thin.

Plus, owning the land in Little Silver would also benefit their Colts Neck location, allowing an expanded variety of items to be sold at both locations.

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An unwanted buyer

Delicious Orchards would certainly be a welcomed buyer should the opportunity arise from Sickles bankruptcy filing. However, there is another kind of buyer out there that we honestly don't need taking that land.

And that would be a land developer. Honestly, nobody wants to see hundreds of oversized homes go up on all that open land. Unfortunately, that's exactly what would happen should a developer get their hands on the property.

It would either be that, or a mega strip mall bringing tons of unwanted traffic to the area. It's nice having that land undeveloped with a family-owned business operating it.

Keep the market

Yes, it's unfortunate what happened to the Sickles family business. And yes, most who live in the area are upset to see this unfold with a potential sale of the property coming.

With that said, it hasn't happened yet and they could still emerge from this. But if they don't, then a sale of their properties is almost a sure possibility.

If that were to happen, Delicious Orchards should seriously consider purchasing the property. Not only would they be able to preserve the market, they'd be able to preserve the land as well.

And unless someone else jumps in to save the market and land, it'll almost certainly be converted to unwanted homes. A scenario almost nobody wants to see.

Regardless if the potential opportunity arises at the Little Silver property or not, there's no denying most in New Jersey would love to see an expansion of the popular Colts Neck market.

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The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.