HOBOKEN AND BEYOND -- Instead of tourists waiting for two hours to get into Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, otherwise known as the site of the reality show "Cake Boss," the bakery may be able to let them wander Hoboken's Washington Street doing their shopping until they are texted to come back.

This initiative was discussed between Mayor Dawn Zimmer and bakery owner Buddy Valastro last week, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

"She says she met last week with bakery co-owner Buddy Valastro to discuss possibilities including a text-messaging system that would tell customers how long they have to wait, freeing them to browse other Washington Street shops instead of standing in line," says the story. "The store's owners also agreed to link from the bakery's website to a Hoboken tourism site to be developed by the city, according to Ms. Zimmer and Adam Bourcier, a spokesman for the bakery."

The news is part of a larger story in the paper looking at the health of Washington Street, the wide, 17-block main thoroughfare in the mile-square city. It contains numerous restaurants, bars, shops, and at the tippy top, the Hudson Reporter newspaper group.

The story notes that Blockbuster Video and Barnes & Noble recently closed (a story published on the Reporter's cover last month). However, it also notes that several stores have moved in, including Ricky's novelty shop. The story quotes Ricky's chief executive Todd Kenig as saying, "It's a really young, hip and up-and-coming area. A lot of young people are moving there, a lot of young families, and that's our client base."

For related stories, see links below.