A Good Sport

No I'm not turning into a jock. In fact for the several years I have lived uphill from Efinger Sporting Goods my curiousity was limited to watching them build the new facility and then, almost overnight, raze the outgrown one (I still remember the Carvel store on its corner!) Finally I had a reason to go in (to get a pedometer for Herb and his new treadmill) and I anticipate going back again. What a neat place! Reminds me of outdoorsy stores in the Adirondacks where you find locally-made fishing lures alongside worldwide brands like Nike (and it has the same kind of longevity--Efinger is New Jersey's largest independent sporting goods retailer and has been in business two years short of a century). Walk in and you come face-to-face with a 1000 gallon shark tank (who knew sharks could be so little and cute-looking!) It's a 50,000 square foot facility with separate departments for each classification of sporting activity, but as big as it is you still get a sense of its mom 'n pop origins, thanks to very helpful and friendly (but not inyourface) personnel. Even better, the staff I ran into personally knew the sport they were servicing: eg. fishermen in the fishing department, golfers in the golf department (which is headed by an LPGA pro), cyclists in the cycling department (I am told they have the most extensive BMX collection in Central Jersey and there are experienced mechanics on duty). And the lines they carry, from the familiar to the hard-to-get, including Orvis, Nike, Patagonia, North Face, Raleigh, Saucony, Calloway, Taylor Made, Coleman,Sorel. And my favorite thing about a store--a large parking lot.
Efinger Sporting Goods is located on West Union Avenue in Bound Brook, just 3 blocks away from 287.