Downtown Raritan: Somerset Street's New Shops and Scarecrow Fest

"The goal is basically to shut down Somerset Street and have different scarecrows that are created by residents and businesses, groups such as boy scouts, girl scouts, anything like that," Raritan councilman Kenneth DiGraziano told TAPinto in late September.

One detail in his description stands out. The scarecrows go up facing the businesses' storefronts. The borough's first-ever Scarecrow Fest is built around Somerset Street's shops. This year, several of those shops are new, opened by small, mostly local owners. That is the clearest sign of change downtown in 2026. The larger redevelopment plans that get most of the headlines are still being worked out on paper.

What actually opened on Somerset Street this year

If you last walked the corridor in fall 2025, three of these addresses will be new to you. The table also includes two long-standing spots, because in April 2025 the borough council itself named them local "hidden gems" in a proclamation.

The three openings came at a steady pace: one in March, one in July and one in August. Catcetera opened on Thursday, March 26, according to MyCentralJersey's coverage. Its website still takes bookings through a "Book a Visit" button, so plan ahead before you stop in.

The people behind the new counters

The two summer openings have something in common. Each is run by one person from Somerset County who spent years preparing for it.

Kaitlyn Oh, of Somerset, opened Cozy Home Cafe on July 11. She told Patch she worked in corporate jobs and as a chemist for several years. Then she spent four years working in different coffee shops before she "managed to get the opportunity to open up my own shop." The menu goes well past standard coffee. Patch's write-up lists a red cappuccino, a black sesame mocha hojicha latte and a matcha mojito. The cafe also sells products from local small businesses. On choosing Somerset Street, Oh said, "this town is really great, very sweet people, and I like the small town vibes."

Six weeks later and a short walk away, Mike Falgiano held the grand opening for Zio's Market Italian Deli at 27 W. Somerset St. It ran on Saturday, Aug. 22, from noon to 3 p.m. Falgiano grew up in the area and describes Zio's as a one-person business rooted in his family's Italian food traditions. Before opening a storefront, he ran a food truck. Zio's offers sandwiches and catering and sells products from several local vendors.

Both businesses also make room on their shelves for other local makers. So the new storefronts give more than one small business a place on Somerset Street.

The long-standing shops follow the same family-run pattern. Patch reported that the Tozzi family took over As You Like It in October 2024, after the shop had been open 39 years, and planned to keep it open year-round. At DeLucia's, the family's pizza tradition goes back to an original bakery founded in 1917, according to MyCentralJersey's 2022 profile.

The larger plans are still in the planning stage

That family-run makeup matters because of where the borough's own redevelopment efforts stand.

In February 2025, Raritan Council voted 4–1 to name a 237.4-acre area an "area in need of rehabilitation." It covers 623 parcels and runs from the NJ Transit rail line to the river, between First Avenue and Route 206. Officials said Somerset Street was the focus. Some of the changes that followed were small and practical. At its April 1, 2025 meeting, the council reported plans to trim the street trees and pressure-wash the pavers, and said the benches had been moved in front of businesses.

The large projects are moving more slowly. A borough redevelopment plan dated March 23, 2026 proposes a mixed-use project on the former Agway parcel along Thompson Street, just south of the train station. It would include commercial space open to the public. The former Raritan Mall site is slated for the Raritan Lofts apartment-and-commercial project. As of a Sept. 28, 2026 TAPinto report, review of the demolition plan will begin once the developer files it. At its Sept. 15 meeting, the council also dissolved its Redevelopment Advisory Committee.

So for now, you won't find new downtown space you can walk into at those sites. What has changed on the 10 blocks of the downtown core this year is a cafe, a deli and a cat cafe in storefronts that already existed.

October on Somerset Street, by date

The Scarecrow Fest is the borough's first attempt to make the street itself the event. Here is the month as the borough, TAPinto and the Raritan Public Library have published it:

• Wednesday, Oct. 7, 5 to 5:30 p.m. Kids Scarecrow Rock Painting in the library's Children's Room.
• Saturday, Oct. 10. Scarecrow Fest participation opens to residents, businesses and community groups. Registration is through a QR code on the borough's flyer.
• Sunday, Oct. 11, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Costume exchange on the first floor of Borough Hall on West Somerset Street, with a Halloween craft for ages 2 and up in the community room downstairs. Costume donations can be dropped off at Borough Hall ahead of time, and organizers encourage dropping off early.
• Oct. 12 through Oct. 31. Scarecrows on display along Somerset Street.
• Wednesday, Oct. 21, 5 to 5:30 p.m. Kids Candy Corn Tooth Paper Pumpkin craft in the library's Children's Room.
• Sunday, Oct. 25. TAPinto reports that prizes for the most popular scarecrows will be handed out at the borough's traditional trunk-or-treat. The story doesn't say where it will be held.
• Saturday, Oct. 31. The borough's notice says the fest wraps up with trick-or-treating and Scarecrow Fest activities on Somerset Street.

Voting for favorite scarecrows runs all month. The two sources give different milestones for the end of the event. TAPinto places the prizes on Oct. 25, and the borough's own notice describes Oct. 31 as the finale. If you entered a scarecrow, check with the recreation department about when winners will be announced.

One way to walk it on a weekend

The downtown core is compact, so it's easy to cover on foot. Here is one order that keeps you moving in a single direction. Check each shop's hours before you go, because none of the coverage lists them.

1. Coffee at Cozy Home Cafe, 2 Somerset St. Start at the low end of the street numbers. The matcha mojito is a seasonal-feeling choice on a cool October morning.
2. Costume exchange at Borough Hall, if it's Oct. 11. It's on West Somerset Street and runs until 1 p.m.
3. Lunch from Zio's, 27 W. Somerset St. Take a sandwich to go and walk west past the scarecrows, which face the shops you're passing.
4. Catcetera, 44 W. Somerset St. Book through its site first.
5. Ice cream at As You Like It. The shop's directions are on its own site, icecreamshop.com.

If you'd rather eat dinner than dessert, DeLucia's at 3 First Ave. is a block off the corridor.

After the scarecrows come down

The next date on the downtown calendar is the Friends of the Library book sale in the Raritan Public Library Community Room. It runs Friday, Nov. 6, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The borough's 2026 municipal calendar doesn't list a tree lighting. Last year's second annual lighting was held Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, at the Nevius Street Pedestrian Bridge.

At Beverly Yoson, I follow downtown openings like Cozy Home Cafe and Zio's because they show what's changing on the blocks where my Somerset County clients live and shop. If you're curious how Raritan's downtown and the Agway and Raritan Lofts plans fit into your own plans, Let's Connect.