Uh-oh. Seth DeForest, owner of Boomerang, Inc., is on the prowl.

And he’s got his posse with him. That would be wife Amanda, who manages Corporate Facilities, Inc., their two-year-old son, and a host of friends, neighbors and other successful 30-somethings who are determined to make South Jersey ballin.

“We’re into the ‘now what?’ phase,” explains DeForest, with typical exuberance. “We’re working hard, building companies, employing staffs of people, looking for new opportunities, raising our families. But at the end of the day we look around South Jersey and say, ‘Now what?’ “

“I don’t want to have to go into Philly or down to Atlantic City or someplace else for a boutique hotel, or a row of culturally-diverse restaurants, or innovative lounges or bars, or a place to shop, or more interesting places for our kids. We want it here – a more sophisticated life in South Jersey.”

DeForest, 31, has settled his family in Moorestown, but he knows plenty of 30-somethings from Haddonfield to Hainesport and Washington Township to Woodbury who are enjoying successful business careers and want to invest some sweat equity on weekend fun.

“South Jersey has to find a way to help people spend their money,” DeForest says.

DeForest himself has some hard-earn disposable income thanks to the remarkable success of his Boomerang, Inc., which bills itself modestly as the East Coast's pre-eminent specialist in high quality, pre-owned office furniture. The balance sheet is not modest: Boomerang has thrown off 40to 60 percent bumps in gross revenues in each of its first eight years.

Its massive warehouses in Pennsauken and Washington Township are filled with pre-owned furniture for reception areas, conference rooms, cubicles, files, seating and workstations from some of the finest brands and companies in the United States. These are high hat hand-me-downs.

Example: Boomerang currently is taking on all of Comcast’s furnishings and accoutrements at the cable giant’s former digs, the 19 floors at 1500 Market Street in Center City, for re-use, re-sale and re-configuration to meet the requirements of new customers, which range from Sunoco to start-ups. Comcast will have all new stuff when it moves into 40 floors at the new Comcast Center. 

So when he has a ‘now what?’moment free from all this heavy lifting, DeForest would like more local links to relaxation.

“For instance,” says DeForest, who is just getting warmed up, “look at Pinsetter Bar and Bowl (in Pennsauken). Companies used to hold events or parties at Lucky Strike in Philly, but corporations are switching to Pinsetter for, among other things, the ease of getting there, there’s plenty of parking and the fact you don’t have the hassles associated with going in to Center City.”

Pinsetter ‘s promise is magic to DeForest and friends: “From our world-class bar, succulent, contemporary continental cuisine, and our state-of-the-art bowling environment, Pinsetter Bar & Bowl is the perfect fusion of restaurant, entertainment, and style.”

A bowling alley with fusion!

DeForest, whose credentials at identifying the eclectic include graduation from Cornell’s fabled hotel management school, then laboring at Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Grille and the W Hotel in Manhattan,  would like to point out these other South Jersey venues, real or potential, which have peaked the interest of DeForest’s ‘now what?’ movement. 

Restaurants: Red Stone American Grille in Marlton and Madison Pub in Riverside, which DeForest says is a terrific example of what will happen along the 130 corridor and River LINE.

Play: The new Sahara Sam’s Oasis Indoor Water Park along Route 73 in West Berlin; improvements planned at Riverton Country Club.

Shopping: The Wegmans in Mount Laurel and Cherry Hill; the upcoming Nordstrom at Cherry Hill Mall.

Hotels: The new Westin Mount Laurel on Fellowship Road. “It’s part of the W Hotels,” says DeForest. “Will it have the type of lounge or bar or pool to attract people to get together. To see and be seen. Not necessarily to stay overnight.”

“Look, whenever something is lacking, there is a business opportunity,” says DeForest, perhaps laying down a marker that Boomerang itself may extend its brand into hospitality and other areas where something is lacking.

“I think about all these good business opportunities in South Jersey. I used to be hospitality. Maybe in a couple years I’ll be in another form of it.”