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To Taryn Clayton, Founder + Head Chef of Soj Foods, food should be about community. That’s why she created Underground Supper Club, a dining experience that’s unlike anything you’ll find at a restaurant. Once a month on a Friday night, Taryn and her team transform their industrial kitchen in Carlstadt, New Jersey into a sit-down dinner event, featuring a vegan five-course meal, complimentary beverages, and the opportunity to dine for as long as you please. Each Supper Club event has its own theme, with a secret menu to match. Keep reading to learn about the road that led Taryn to Underground Supper Club, and what to expect from this unique event series in North Jersey.

Taryn studied nutrition at Montclair State University, and initially intended to pursue a career in public health and food counseling. But when she didn’t get into the graduate program that she was hoping for, she found herself on a different path.

It was her mom who suggested culinary school, knowing that Taryn had always loved to cook. After taking a year off to travel the world and indulge in various foods and cultures, she decided to go for it.

As a vegetarian, Taryn found herself at National Gourmet Institute (NGI) — a plant-based culinary arts school in New York City. Following graduation, she taught cooking classes in and around the city, which is when she started to fall in love with the community aspect of food.

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At this time, she also started personal cheffing and opened a grab + go business, which she was building organically through the people she met and the connections she made at NGI. She was starting to think about moving to her own facility and forming her own LLC when the pandemic hit. Like so many, her business dwindled, but she didn’t stop pushing ahead, planning for the future.

She knew that one day she wanted to have her own space to host events and believed the ticket to get there was her personal cheffing and grab + go businesses. She invested in what is now Soj Foods, initially working out of a tea shop in Ridgewood, NJ before landing in her current kitchen location in Carlstadt.

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By the winter of 2023, Taryn was finally starting to feel settled with the personal chef services and grab + go aspects of Soj Foods. But there was a spark missing — which was being able to cook a meal for people from her heart. While she was hesitant about using her industrial kitchen in Carlstadt as an event space, she also realized that she finally had creative freedom.

“I thought to myself, what am I waiting for? I love the cooking that I do for personal cheffing and grab + go, but hosting dinners is what feeds my soul like no other,” Taryn shared with The Montclair Girl. “I was doing deliveries in New York and I had a moment where I realized that I needed to just go ahead and do it. I had to start somewhere, and had nothing to lose. I made up my mind right then and there.”

She immediately brainstormed the concept with her best friend and social media manager, Celina Semente, branding it Underground Supper Club for the old-school vibe and the influence of the production facility setting. Like so many other times during Taryn’s journey, it was her friends and loved ones in her life who rallied around her to make the first event happen.

Celina quickly got to promoting it on Instagram, Taryn’s boyfriend and his dad built wooden tables in their garage, another friend created the playlist, and of course, Taryn curated the menu. They were scrappy, and successfully kicked off the first event of the series in March 2023.

As Taryn explained to MG, “The whole vibe of Supper Club is to encourage people to come have a meal, communicate with each other, and slow things down. It’s a moment to sit and enjoy dinner and not be rushed somewhere. There aren’t many moments that we get to sit and just be present and eat a meal or have an experience. Food should be a communal thing.”

For each event, the team miraculously converts a cold production facility into a warm, welcoming environment. Guests are greeted with cocktails before gathering at a community table to feast on Taryn’s creations.

In between courses, diners have meaningful conversations with each other or with Taryn herself, who pops out of the kitchen before each course to introduce the dish and its ingredients. Underground Supper Club is like a dinner party with friends — except your meal is cooked by a trained chef who puts a ton of heart, soul, and creativity into the menu.

The food itself is for anyone who’s interested in trying something new. It’s a vegan and largely gluten-free menu, and any additional restrictions can be catered to.

When creating the menu, Taryn starts with one idea or ingredient and builds from there, with each month centered on a theme. For example, the first event in March was largely centered on the changing season, featuring winter vegetables combined with fresh herbs reminiscent of spring. The secret menu lends itself to Taryn’s creativity, as she’s easily able to adjust based on what’s available at the market or the inspiration she gets in the kitchen.

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Taryn would eventually like to host Supper Club every Friday, and her vision is to start fusing it with more thematic experiences. For example, a jazz night where music is playing from a record player with a menu catered to sound, or a movie night with a film playing on a big screen and foods that are emotive to the film. She’d also like to collaborate with other small businesses such as local artists, creatives, wellness practitioners, etc. to give guests something nontraditional.

For now, Taryn and her team are focused on making sure they’re curating the best possible experience. “The atmosphere is very important to Supper Club. We want to curate something that people can walk into and feel a certain way. Every detail that we put into the room is for a reason. We’re trying to put meaning and significance into all of the pieces that go into this night.”

Currently, the tables are set for 24, but there’s an opportunity to expand that number without losing the personal, intimate setting of Supper Club. The events will always be on a smaller scale.

The next event is taking place on Friday, May 26th, and in honor of Mother’s Day, the theme is an ode to women.

Summer events are also scheduled for June 16th and July 14th. Tickets are $135 and all events start at 7:30PM and are located at 435 Meadow Lane in Carlstadt, NJ.

More information about how to RSVP can be found on their website or Instagram.

CARLSTADT — A stretch of Lincoln Street at Broad Street will be renamed Saturday in honor of a World War II veteran and former prisoner of war who grew up in a house on the street.

Vito "Pal" Trause, 93, now of Washington Township, is receiving the honor at the insistence of Dario Sforza, the Becton Regional High School principal, and Ellie Iannuzzi, the widow of Trause's childhood friend Alphonse "Funzi" Iannuzzi, who was also a World War II veteran and had a section of street renamed for him in the borough.

"Now they said, 'Put me up there, too,' " Trause said, referring to the Carlstadt Borough Council. "Usually, they pass away when they do these things, but I'm still alive. I can see the sign. I think that's great."

Recently, Sforza, who is also a Washington Township resident, teamed with Ellie Iannuzzi to lobby local officials to rename the corner after Trause while he is still alive, an experience Iannuzzi told Sforza that she regrets her husband missed. The Borough Council approved the measure Monday.

Trause gained recognition this summer, when his former high school, East Rutherford High School, now Becton Regional, awarded him a diploma through the state Department of Education's Operation Recognition program.

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As a youth on Lincoln Street, Trause took to sports, playing baseball and football for East Rutherford High School. He even faced Larry Doby, the Paterson native famous for following Jackie Robinson as the second player to move from baseball's Negro Leagues to the major leagues, in a high school baseball game.

Trause was an infantryman and a scout who trained in Africa before being sent to the front in Italy.

He and another soldier were captured in September 1944 and sent to Stalag VII-A, Germany's largest prisoner-of-war camp. When Trause arrived at the prison, he saw German guards beating up two American soldiers. He realized the abused soldiers were of Italian descent and quickly decided to hide his heritage from the SS officers.

"I'm afraid that if I tell them my name is Vito, they might beat me up, too," Trause recalled. "I told everyone my name was Al."

The lie turned out to be unnecessary, as he and his fellow captives were soon known only by numbers, which they had to recite in German during roll call each morning.

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Trause worked daily in Munich. He worked on railroads and recovered dead bodies. He toiled through much of the winter, working without proper footwear. When his foot swelled, threatening him with amputation or possibly death, a Jewish prisoner of the Nazis who worked alongside him stole a pair of shoes from a corpse. The other man hid them under his coat to give to Trause. He believes the gesture saved his life.

"Whenever my feet hurt, I remember that man," he said.

After five months as a POW, he was liberated by American forces in May 1945.

Speaking with Trause, "you get a sense for the appropriate way to live life, because he could have easily been bitter when he came home after the war, but he chose to live," Sforza said. "There aren't many individuals like him anymore, who laugh and smile through life."

The street renaming will cement Trause's "story and legacy in history," Sforza said.

Trause looks forward to returning to his hometown.

“Carlstadt was a great town," he said. "I knew everyone when I was there. I always go back to Carlstadt.”

Staff Photographer Kevin R. Wexler contributed to this article.

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CARLSTADT — For more than a decade, knitting and crocheting fanatics have walked its aisles of large bins filled with a vast variety of yarn in all textures and colors. But the Lion Brand Yarn Outlet will soon be closing, shutting down a small sanctuary for those devoted to needlework.

"We will miss each of you," the store told its customers via Facebook after it announced its closing in December.

For customer Darlene Dove, the Lion Brand outlet is closing too soon.

"This is only my second time coming here, and I'm sad to see it go," said Dove. "I have a knitting and crochet group in the Bronx, and this is where I get all my materials."

"This is about the saddest thing I've read," one customer commented on the outlet's Facebook announcement.

The outlet center was the last brick-and-mortar outpost for the Carlstadt-based Lion Brand company, which was founded in 1878 and soon began to make its mark in the fashion world. Vanna White was briefly a spokesperson for the brand, according to its website.

It opened a flagship store, the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, in Manhattan in 2008. That store closed in April 2020.

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Today, Lion Bran yarns are sold online and in craft chains including Michael's and Jo-Ann stores, discount chains and independent stores. It is the leading distributor of knitting and craft yarn in the U.S.

The outlet store on Kero Road in Carlstadt is expected to close for good in late March, although there is no set date. A notice advises customers to call before coming.

The store has inventory marked down 50% and features "three to a pack" or any three packs of yarn at a discount.

Lexa Mingo took advantage of the store-closing prices on Thursday to stockpile some supplies. "Projects can get pricey, especially now, and half-price is incredible," said Mingo.

The outlet is currently open limited hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After Feb. 13, days will be cut back. Check the Lion Brand Outlet Facebook page for last-minute changes.

Tribeca Oven, Inc. has renewed its leases at two adjacent properties in the Meadowlands, announced Colliers International NJ LLC Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI, TSX: CIG). The facilities at 425 and 447 Gotham Parkway in Carlstadt house the wholesale artisan bread manufacturer's distribution and bakery operations, respectively.

Founded as a fresh bakery in New York City in 1988, Tribeca Oven transitioned to a frozen par-baked, wholesale-focused model when it moved to Carlstadt in 2004. Colliers' John Donnelly, based in Parsippany, N.J., co-brokered the long-term, full-building, renewals for Tribeca Oven with JLL's Jeff Miller, who represents Tribeca Oven's parent company, C.H. Guenther & Son Inc., on a national basis.

Institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management own the 115,000-square-foot 425 Gotham Parkway, while Prologis 2, LP owns the 53,000-square-foot 447 Gotham Parkway. Paul Rosen, vice president - leasing officer, and Jason Tenenbaum, senior leasing manager, for Prologis were an integral part of the seamless lease renewal process at 447 Gotham. Brian Golden from JLL served as landlord representative for both properties.

"Tribeca Oven maintains a modern bakery operation with sophisticated infrastructure at its Carlstadt operation," Donnelly noted. "The level of investment in this manufacturing space, and the efficiency of having a seamless distribution operation right next door, connected by a tunnel, made renewing in place the logical choice."

Donnelly added that while the involvement of two distinct property ownerships added complexity to the negotiating process, all parties involved were committed to a successful outcome and collaborated extremely well together," he said.

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About Colliers International Group Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI; TSX: CIG) is an industry leading global real estate services company with more than 16,000 skilled professionals operating in 66 countries. With an enterprising culture and significant employee ownership, Colliers professionals provide a full range of services to real estate occupiers, owners and investors worldwide. Services include strategic advice and execution for property sales, leasing and finance; global corporate solutions; property, facility and project management; workplace solutions; appraisal, valuation and tax consulting; customized research; and thought leadership consulting. Colliers professionals think differently, share great ideas and offer thoughtful and innovative advice that help clients accelerate their success. Colliers has been ranked among the top 100 outsourcing firms by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals' Global Outsourcing for 11 consecutive years, more than any other real estate services firm. For the latest news from Colliers, visit Colliers.com or follow us on Twitter: @Colliers and LinkedIn. To see the latest news on Colliers International in New York, follow @Colliers_NYC and Twitter.

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CARLSTADT — After a Meadowlands warehouse sold for more than double its assessed value, Carlstadt officials are fighting the state to keep locals from feeling the effect on their tax bills.

Carlstadt underwent a revaluation in 2017, and a rolling reassessment this year, resulting in a 99.09 Assessed to Aggregate True Value ratio, meaning it was considered accurate.

Subsequently, the New Jersey Division of Taxation published its Director’s Ratio, reflecting 68.2 percent for the borough. A Director's Ratio determines how much Carlstadt and East Rutherford taxpayers pay toward the Becton Regional High School.

The discrepancy stems from the inclusion of one office/warehouse facility sale from January 2017.

“It’s ridiculous how an anomaly on one sale can cost the taxpayers $3 million,” said Mayor Craig Lahullier.

“Every household would have to add to the taxes already, so you are looking at a tax increase," Lahullier noted. "Right now, the average tax increase already is about $100 a house, so you are looking at about $500 per house.”

The impact of the warehouse sale’s inclusion is “devastating, irreparable and wrong” for taxpayers, said Ken Porro, special counsel for the borough.

“We have a constitutional mandate to assess properties uniformly and at fair market value. We have tax court case law that says exactly that. Carlstadt did everything right,” Porro said.

In a complaint filed against the state and the Bergen County Board of Taxation, Carlstadt officials seek to have 350 Starke Road declared “non-usable,” and therefore removed from calculations.

The property was assessed at about $32.3 million and sold for $73 million in 2017 to a Los Angeles-based company.

Borough officials have twice gone before the Bergen County Board of Taxation to plead their case to change the county’s ratio.

On Wednesday, May 9, the board voted in favor of Carlstadt.

“Today, justice was served in that the county acknowledged that the rogue sale in Carlstadt was non-usable, and thereby for the county purposes the ratio is 100 percent," Porro said.

Board member Christopher Eilert said the sale “stood out like a sore thumb,” and that the borough was able to prove it should be excluded.

Although the county’s actions are promising for Carlstadt, the final decision to change the Director’s Ratio — and the Becton formula — remains with the state.

How the school funding works

Carlstadt’s goal is to get the sale removed, and update the Director’s Ratio, before Becton Regional High School sets its tax rate.

Once the rate is set, each borough will use it to collect taxes on behalf of the district from its respective residents.

How much each municipality pays into the regional school district isn’t based on the fair market value or revaluation figures, but instead on an “antiquated formula” using the state’s Director’s Ratio, Porro said.

“So here you had someone who is not an appraiser, not a reval person, say, ‘We’re going to make that a usable sale.’ That unilateral decision has devastating impacts,” Porro said.

Porro observed that if the rate is set before the matter is resolved, then East Rutherford taxpayers will have to make up the funds in the subsequent year.

As of the current school year, Carlstadt paid $7.3 million, or 57 percent, of Becton’s $12.8 million tax levy. The borough makes up 236.5, or about 46 percent, of Becton’s students, said Business Administrator Nicholas Annitti.

Schools Superintendent Louise Clarke did not respond to a request for comment.

East Rutherford Mayor James Cassella agreed that the warehouse sale was wrongly included in the calculations. However, Cassella said he finds no issue with Becton’s formula.

East Rutherford shoulders the cost of plowing snow, collecting trash and recyclables, providing a school resource officer, and other expenses at Becton, and the borough loses out on a potential ratable, he said.

“Carlstadt since the beginning has complained about the tax-sharing formula, going back to the 1970s,” Cassella said. “They can argue their point about the formula, but they fail to mention all the things we are paying for and continue to do.”

Impact of one sale

“It was marked ‘non-usable’ right from the beginning,” Lahullier said of the sale. “We were already told that we were at 100 percent by the state and the county going into 2018. Out of the blue at some meeting in January, they changed it by using that one sale. It is devastating.”

The warehouse has three lease tenants, testified Rick Del Guercio of Carlstadt’s appraisal firm, McNerney & Associates. However, Del Guercio said, information was hard to come by, as the ownership did not respond during the revaluation process.

Having performed reassessments in other Meadowlands towns, Del Guercio said he believes this sale was unusually high.

“There is not one other industrial sale remotely close to this in the entire state of New Jersey,” Del Guercio said.

The warehouse had a “special warranty deed,” Porro argued, but the borough was unable to learn more because the facility's owner did not return calls.

“That puts up a red flag right there. In my 30 years of practice, I don’t think I’ve ever used a special warranty deed,” Porro said.

The inability to verify data on the sale could have led a state employee to opt to reverse the ‘non-usable’ designation, he added.

What now?

As of the Bergen County Board of Taxation hearing, the New Jersey Division of Taxation had yet to render a decision.

“I think it’s a good sign what happened here, because the state really gets their numbers from what happens here at the county,” Lahullier said.

“Our next move now is to present this information to the state, and hopefully they will voluntarily amend their number. If not, we have a pending lawsuit and will do everything we have to do to protect the Carlstadt taxpayer base,” Porro said.