Man at the Mall: Downtown Westwood

The "Hub of the Pascack Valley" is otherwise known as the borough of Westwood. The town which is centrally located in northern Bergen County, boasts a small downtown which has its mix of national retailers and smaller, independently owned shops. The downtown even has an assortment of restaurants ranging from Italian to Greek to Mexican.

The main thoroughfares are Westwood Avenue and Broadway. Be sure to venture to some of the side streets where you will find some specialty stores.

The national clothing retailers located in the downtown include; The Gap, Chico's and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers. The smaller clothing stores and boutiques include; Chris & Company, Hartly, Guess What's New? Boutique, Arts & Ends, Society Men, Tender Is the Night, Papillon Menswear, www.papillonmenswear.net, Donna Moda, Monte Carlo, Ginger N' Cream, The Lollipop Tree, Fabulous Finds consignment boutique, www.fabulousfindsnj.com, Saniga and Ruthie'Z, www.ruthiez.com.

Downtown Westwood has a number of specialty stores including; Just Our Shoes, Beauty Supply of Westwood, Shaw's Book Shop, Murat, Jess & Co., Coren cosmetics, Home Accents By H & M, The Nut Shop, Westwood Variety, Greetings Unlimited, which features Hallmark cards, L N Grand Variety store, Bergen County Camera, www.bergencountycamera.com, The Papery, www.thepaperystores.com, Music Merchants, www.musicmerchant.com, The Gem Mine, Lorriane's Cozy Corner Store, Perennials, Fabric Discount King and Gift Basket Gallery, www.giftbasketgalleryinc.com.

There is also a CVS Pharmacy and Trader Joe's in town. Further up Broadway near the Hillsdale border is Westwood Plaza, which has a K-Mart, T.J. Maxx, Dress Barn, Payless Shoe Source, GNC, Harmon Discount, Sleepy's, Radio Shack and other stores ans eateries.

Westwood has its share of restaurants and eateries. One of the more popular establishments in town is The Iron Horse, www.theironhorse.com. Other restaurants include; The Melting Pot, It's Greek To Me, Tinga Taqueria, Baci Italian Grill, Hanami, P.J. Finnegans, Brasserie West, www.brasseriewest.com, Granita Grille, recently opened Jim Dandy's, www.jimdandys.net/westwood and The Mountain House.

A long time staple in downtown Westwood is Conrad's, www.conradscandy.com and recently opened Cold Stone Creamery and Starbucks.

Downtown Westwood even has it's own movie theatre, the 6-screen Pascack Theatre located off of Westwood Avenue on Center Avenue.

For more information on downtown Westwood click here; www.westwoodchamberofcommerce.com.

Comments

[Suzanne Walsh]

I just want to mention that I had a terrible experience at Donna Moda and would advise people to try one of the other shops in Westwood. After paying $1,300 for a dress and waiting six weeks for alterations nothing was done with no phones calls to warn me. They missed two other promised dates with no phones calls to warn me so that I ended up sitting in the shop at 9pm two days before the event so they could rush to try finish it. She put a blue bra in a white dress and she then refused to negotiate on the alteration fees forcing me to pay an extra $200. Terrible experience!

[linda]

What does this really tell shoppers about Westwood? Not much at all.

[linda]

I mean the blog - Suzanne's comment actually offers insight on a store in the town!

[a dissatisfied customer]

If for any reason you wander into Donna Moda dress shop, do not buy a thing. The store is a fraud. The owner Anna is abbusive and a down right thief. Go down two more blocks on the same side of the avenue to Hartlys it is a great store and a reputible business.They sell the real thing not designer copies.

[CARMELA DEMAIO]

JUST WANT TO SAY THAT DONNA MODA IS THE WORST STORE I EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH, BUT I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW SO I AM FILING LEGAL SUIT AGAINST THE PERSONNEL AND THE STORE, YES I'M BRINGING THE STORE TO A FINAL CHAPTER ONCE I'M DONE WITH THEM, EVERYONE IS RIGHT THEY ARE HORRIBLE, DISRESPECTUL AND VERY UNPROFESSIONAL.

[NINA]

SHARING A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE AT DONNA MODA DRESS SHOP, THE STORE IS DEFINETELY A FRAUD THE SALES ASSOCIATE EMMA IS A REAL THIEF ALOND WITH THE OWNER ANNA VERY ABBUSIVE. I URGE EVERYONE TO STAY AWAY FROM THAT STORE THEY NEED TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON HOW TO DO BUSINESS.

[another pissed person]

ok so im not from nj but wanted to go to the store guess whats new for my sweet 16 dress. they really didnt have what i was looking for. but i saw the store danna moda. so i went in and ended up falling in LOVE with a dress from there. she charged me about $700 for this dress. then of course i wanted to show my friends the dress so i went to look for it online. i found the dress online selling for $300!! i got ripped off! i payed 400 extra! n i feel like the women there new that she was ripping me off cuz she offerend 10% off if i bought it on the spot.
so now idk what im gna do....

NEVER GO TO THAT STORE!

[Lisa DiGiacomo]

My daughter went to this dress shop with her grandmother to buy her prom dress. I only wish I was with them, because we would have left immiately. Horrible, horrible horrible! We had to go back 3 times for alterations. I didn't even have to do that for my wedding. The seamstress did not seem to understand english. That rude blonde woman didn't even know if the dress was ready or not when we called. Then she would tell us it was ready and when we got there nothing, and I mean nothing, was altered. She was rude and very unprofessional during each of my 7 phone calls and 4 vists. If you are thinking of going to DONNA MODA in Westwood, NJ - YOU HAD BETTER THINK AGAIN. If you are looking to get stressed out, ripped off and aggravated for your special event, then absolutely go there. I only wish I had read these comments first. Whomever owns the Donna Moda label should really take a look into this woman and how she is destroying your name. It is a pathetic excuse for a dress boutique.

[Ela C.]

If you are looking for a FABULOUS FIND - stay away from Fabulous Finds Consignment Shop in Westwood!! The only thing you will find there is a RUDE lady, who I believe is the owner. It's located adjacent to the Movie Theatre on Center Avenue.

I brought in some clothing - GAP, CACHE, INC Brands etc...hoping to open an account. She was too busy trying to send a text message to her friend to help me. When she did look up, she painfully looked at two articles of clothing and tossed them aside with disgust. She was so rude that I grabbed my pile of clothing and said that I would rather give them away than step foot in her store again.

Assuming she is the "boutique owner"- she clearly is not happy. I guess she is to be pitied - afterall - she is sitting in a dark, musty room filled with used clothing and fake Gucci & Chanel bags. Yes, the one thing she did tell me was that all the Brands were FAKE!

I will tell everyone I know to stay away from the Fabulous FAKE Finds....unless they want to have a good laugh at the expense of the rudest woman in town.

[Disgusted Too]

The sales people at The Gap are also very rude. One Saturday I went in and stood on line. The sales girl (a girl about 17) ignored me. When I spoke up, she started yelling at me, telling me I wasn't even there when I had been there the whole time. I stood my ground but she wouldn't listen. To add insult to injury she turned to her associates and other customers and said "isn't she crazy?" about me. I got angry as I had a right to and demanded that she listen to me as I tried to explain. I also demanded she get her manager. Another sales woman (this one was about 50 and should have known better) started screeching - that's right screeching at me. The manager came out and continued the abuse. No one would listen to me that I had been ignored by this rude sales girl and the immature sales girl and clearly senile 50 year old were abusing me. I called the police then went home and called The Gap Customer Service Center. I got all the merchandise I was going to buy in the store free and also shipped for free to make up for the abuse but they refused to fire the spoiled brat who started the incident and called me crazy, the abusive 50 year old or the abusive manager. I have not been back to any Gap store since anywhere. They lost a very good customer who dropped quite a bit of money there each year. Idiots.