Fair Lawn hosting ‘scavenger hunt’ in its business district for prizes

Shoppers in Fair Lawn are encouraged to snap a selfie at their favorite borough businesses as part of a scavenger hunt that will award prizes and give visitors and residents a new reason to head downtown.

It’s the second year that Fair Lawn Main Street, a nonprofit group that manages the borough’s two special improvement districts, has put together the event, said Ryan Greff, executive director of the group. Last year, 330 people participated, and Greff is positive there will be even more participation this year with the inclusion of more locations.

“The scavenger hunt is a good way to shine a light on these various different businesses,” Greff said.

To take part in the scavenger hunt, which begins today and will run throughout the month, shoppers can take a photo of themselves or a photo of their receipt in front of participating Fair Lawn businesses. Shoppers will then email the photos to Greff to be entered into a raffle. Fair Lawn Main Street is also asking people to visit various parks and historic homes as part of the scavenger hunt.

“The goal is to attract people to the municipality,” Greff said. “If they come here, they will hopefully spend money here, but we also want to get people in the municipality to be aware of things that exist in Fair Lawn.”

Participants don’t have to be Fair Lawn residents to join the hunt and enter the contest; anybody who comes to the borough to shop and snap a photo can enter.

Last year, a person from as far away as Ocean Grove participated, Greff said. Posting the selfie on social media also isn’t required; the photos can be sent directly to Greff.

Each photo taken in front of a participating business or borough site and submitted will count as a new entry for the raffle. There’s a minimum of five photos to be included in the general raffle, and those wishing to go for the grand prize must submit a minimum of 10 photos.

“The more you submit, the higher your chances are, since you’ll have more of your name in the drawing,” Greff said.

The raffle will include gift cards for local Fair Lawn businesses, and the grand prize winner will have a choice between a “giant TV” or a PlayStation 5, he said.

The winners of the drawing will be invited to the Fair Lawn Municipal Building on Sept. 13 to be presented with their gifts and take photos together.

“Fair Lawn has a lot of everything in it,” Greff said. “It has its own economic and business identity very different from almost anywhere else I’ve seen, with just a wide variety. A person never really needs to leave Fair Lawn to get what they’re after.”

The scavenger hunt checklist can be picked up at any participating business. The selfies and/or photos of receipts should be sent in one email to rgreff1@ramapo.edu by Aug. 31 at 11:59 p.m. to be entered into the scavenger hunt.

The businesses included in the scavenger hunt include:

• American Nursery

• Benny’s Luncheonette

• Biby’s

• Big Ed’s Car Wash

• Bite Food & Coffee

• Brine Chicken

• Carvel

• Chicken Galore

• Cozie Cafe

• Cups Frozen Yogurt

• D&N Deli

• Dance a Lot

• Fair Lawn Diner

• Fresh Daily Manna

• Giovanni’s

• Gotham City Diner

• Grand Latin Restaurant

• Haagen-Dazs

• Haus Cafe

• Hong Kong Chinese

• Hot Bagels

• Jerry’s Hot Chicken

• Johnny & Hanges

• Juicy Platters

• Mn’M Party Store

• Modern Bagel

• NJ Gourmet

• Plymouth Park Pharmacy

• Poke Express

• Saigon Bistro

• Santos Florist

• ShopRite

• Soup Maison

• Taco Buzz

• The Craftsman

• Taino Minimarket

• Tops Bagels

• Two Guys

• Zadies Bake Shop

• Zap Lube

Some of the parks, historical sites and other locations taking part in the hunt include:

• Cadmus House

• Berdan Park

• Gregory Park

• Memorial Park

• Naugle House

• The Chelsea of Fair Lawn

ANNE-MARIE CARUSO/NORTHJERSEY.COM Taino Minimarket, a Latin specialty store, is one of the businesses taking part in Fair Lawn’s scavenger hunt.