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The basics:

• New 80,000-sf ShopRite opens in East Orange
• Store will employ +250 workers when fully staffed
• Features expanded prepared foods, organic options, free parking
• Serves as anchor tenant for The Crossings at Brick Church Station

Village Super Market Inc. is celebrating the launch of a brand-new ShopRite in North Jersey.

Located at 533 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in East Orange, the state-of-the-art, 80,000-square-foot supermarket officially began welcoming customers May 27.

It replaced a 55,000-square-foot store located adjacent to the new one. That 67-year-old supermarket closed its doors for the last time May 26.

Village Super Market Marketing Director Amanda Zuroick said the grocer is excited to show off its “brand-new, amenity-filled store.”

The new space includes expansive prepared food areas such as a sushi bar, fish fry station and soup bar. It also features more grab-and-go meals, like sandwiches, fried chicken and ribs. There’s also a bakery, meat cutter, fishmonger and full produce department.

The store also has more organic produce, vegetarian and vegan-friendly options, as well as $1.99 coffee all day, the grocer said.

After the old location is knocked down, the store plans to convert the space into a parking lot, Village Super Market officials told East Orange Mayor Ted Green on his “Town Talk” program.

They also said free two-hour parking is available for ShopRite customers in an on-site parking garage.

24-hour schedule to return

According to Zuroick, a grand-opening celebration will take place later this summer after the new parking lot is complete and former store is demolished.

“When all remaining site work is finished, we will also return to our 24-hour store schedule at the new location. In the meantime, the new store is operating with temporary hours of 6 a.m. to midnight.

“Customer response to the store has been fantastic, and we thank shoppers for their patience as we complete the remaining site work. We look forward to celebrating with the community at a grand opening later this summer,” Zuroick told NJBIZ.

Village Super Market officials have also said the prior store’s team of 187 associates will work at the new location.

Overall, the company expects to employ well over 250 workers the new location is fully staffed. The grocer is also interested in partnering with the East Orange School District and the Mayor’s Office of Employment and Training to create workforce pipelines for young people.

Individuals interested in job opportunities can click here.

In development

Village Super Market is a member of Keasbey-based co-op Wakefern Food Corp. It operates 30 ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as seven specialty markets under the Gourmet Garage and Fairway Market brands in Manhattan. The Sumas family owns the company.

In East Orange, the new ShopRite serves as anchor of a mixed-used transit-oriented development that will feature retailers such as Burlington, Five Below, Verizon, Newark Community Health Center and Angel Nails. The recently signed tenants will join existing retailers Dunkin’ and Rita’s Italian Ice.

The Crossings at Brick Church Station will also include 1,000 mixed-income residential units and two restaurants, co-developers Triangle Equities and Incline Capital have said.