Local artisans, community leaders and neighborhood entrepreneurs are rolling up their sleeves to launch a pop-up event in Mendham Township’s charming Brookside historic district.
The Water Street Mercantile (“the Merc”), a new concept of a community meeting place and retail environment, will be open to the public Thursday, March 12 through Sunday, March 15, 7 am to 6 pm. Locals are excited to pilot the event in Brookside, where retail businesses are not commonplace.
Each morning, CocoLuxe Fine Pastries will offer coffee, croissants and other treats. (Those proceeds will benefit Mendham Township schools.) And at 11 am each day, the Merc will also open retail spaces hosted by individual artisans, including Loving Blue handcrafted Polish pottery, Harmony Brookside gift shop, Brynn Hudson Jewelry Shop and Katie Ink art prints and tees. Also offering wares will be Mendham Creates, a collection of local residents’ ceramics, paintings, knitware, cards, pendants and more.
Water Street Mercantile’s art exhibit—curated by interior designer Heather Tokarz of Well Design LLC, and art expert Christina Rilke, both of Mendham Township—opens Friday, March 13, from 4–6 pm and will feature artists including Alice Harrison of Morristown and Laura Shabazz of Bernardsville. Also in attendance will be a masterfully designed cheese board created by California farm-to-table chef Melissa Fairchild Clark of Brookside.
“It takes a village, and our village is filled with talented people,” says Merc owner Meghan Roghanchi. “We look forward to sharing our vision for our little corner in Brookside. Our coffee and pastry shop will feature multimedia art from our talented neighbors and fun retail concepts from local women.”
Located on Brookside’s main street, the Water Street Mercantile is named for the historic district that made it a busy industrial village from the early 18th century through 1900. Today, visitors can see remnants of the waterways that once powered saw mills, grist mills, wagon shops, a glass factory and other cottage industries.
Learn more about this pop-up event (4 East Main Street, Brookside) by following @waterstmerc on Instagram or calling 973-951-4925.