Newark, New Jersey: Newark's new ShopRite location is preparing for opening day. According to Elisabeth Loeb of Wakefern Food Corporation, ShopRite's parent company, "the store is slated to open at the end of September". It will be owned by Neil Greenstein, who also owns the Brookdale ShopRite in Bloomfield.
The supermarket will be located within the new Springfield Avenue Marketplace residential and commercial development, which is part of the University Heights section of Newark's Central Ward. Sarku Japan and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen are also planning to open locations in the development, as is a McDonald's franchisee. The development will also feature 152 apartments within the 24 Jones residential building.
It had been rumored that a Walmart location would open in the development, however, the proposed location was opposed by many community members and organizations. The are currently no Walmart locations in Essex County.
Other food markets like Food Depot and Save a Lot have opened in the Central Ward within the past five years, joining a Pathmark supermarket that opened on Bergen Street in 1990. In addition, a Whole Foods Market will open on Broad Street in the near future. The area was once considered to be a 'food desert' due to the lack of supermarkets.
The land now occupied by the Springfield Avenue Marketplace sat vacant for decades until construction on the development began in 2013. The property stretches north to south between South Orange and Springfield Avenues, and east to west between Prince and Jones Streets. The area is served by NJ Transit and Coach USA buses.
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Pictured: 24 Jones at the Springfield Avenue Marketplace