Did Chairman Mapp let a cat out of the bag?

Developer Frank Cretella owns the former main office
of United National Bank at 2nd and Park.

Besides dealing with selecting Primary election candidates, Chairman Mapp took time at Saturday's Plainfield Democratic City Committee meeting to review some of the many projects currently under way or soon to come to the Queen City.

One in particular caught my ear.

Chairman Mapp reminded those present about the fine new restaurant coming to Park Avenue. In the process, he associated it with the Stone House in Warren, Liberty House at Liberty State Park, and the Ryland Inn in Whitehouse Station.

Now those are all Landmark Hospitality properties, one of the companies of developer Frank Cretella.

According to reports in the press, the new DJBK restaurant on Park Avenue will be in the old Courier News building at 220 Park Avenue. It is a partnership between Cretella's Landmark and chef David Felton.

What Chairman Mapp said next is what caught my attention: "...it will be in the old bank building and will have a banquet hall seating 300."

First of all, the Courier News building has never been a bank. Ever. Secondly, the only descriptions of the DJBK restaurant say that it will have seating for 120 plus a 40-seat event space. Nothing that sounds like a 300-seat banquet hall. So, is Chairman Mapp talking about the restaurant in the Courier News building?

There is another possibility, and that is the old United National Bank (now PNC) building at Park Avenue and West 2nd Street.

The large parking lot Cretella says will be available for DJBK customers actually is part of the UNB parcel.

Ted's Appliances was located in between and was suddenly demolished last October and appears to be about to be incorporated into the already-existing parking lot (see story here).

And a lot of people have noticed demolition work quietly going on in the UNB building for months, with dumpsters being parked in the driveup window lanes to the rear of the building.

Add to this the fact that Cretella developed an old bank building in Ridgewood into a spectacular dining space, and you have enough of a hint to perk up one's ears.

Felina, the Ridgewood restaurant, features a rooftop bar (more here) and tables in the old bank's vault (see here).
 

The bank in Ridgewood that Cretella converted
into Felina's restaurant.

Even the vault was turned into a unique dining space.

Cretella once (10 years ago) talked of a rooftop bar on the United National Bank building (see my story about that here).

So, adding together all these intriguing morsels, did Chairman Mapp let the cat out of the bag on another Cretella Plainfield project?

Only time will tell, but it looks like a jigsaw puzzle may be coming together.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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