Fresh Grocer to Bring 300 Jobs to New Brunswick

Representatives of The City of New Brunswick, The Fresh Grocer and Middlesex County announced a hiring initiative on Tuesday that will bring 300 new jobs to New Brunswick, with special efforts to assist New Brunswick residents in applying.

The Fresh Grocer, a 49,000 sq. ft. full-service supermarket, is set to open on Nov. 2 in the Health and Wellness Plaza that is under construction in the downtown.

Mayor James Cahill called the supermarket the first full-service supermarket to open "in more than a generation" in an urban center in New Jersey

It will feature numerous departments, including catering, fresh seafood, a butcher, a deli, prepared foods, a coffee bar, a bakery, a salad bar and brick oven pizza. It will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Patrick Burns, CEO of The Fresh Grocer.

When the market opens, it will employ 300 people in numerous full and part-time positions at varying levels, and beginning on Sept. 18, residents will be able to apply for those jobs.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. over a period of three days, the Middlesex County One-Stop Career Center, located at 550 Jersey Ave., will accept applicants wishing to apply for a position with the Fresh Grocer.

• On Sept. 18, people with last names beginning with the letters A-I may apply
• On Sept. 19, people with last names beginning with the letters J-R may apply
• On Sept. 20, people with last names beginning with the letters S-Z may apply.

Anyone wishing to apply for a job must bring their social security number, proof of eligibility to work in the U.S. if the applicant is not a U.S. citizen, documentation of special skills or training, if applicable, and an official document showing the applicant's current address.

Jane Brady, of the Middlesex County Department of Workforce Development, said that no applications will be provided to The Fresh Grocer until Sept. 21, so the order of applicants seen will not make a difference in the fate of their application.

The One-Stop Career Center has on-site free parking, and is accessible by public transportation, Brady said.

Job descriptions are available on Jobs4Jersey.com, and will also be posted in the One-Stop Career Center, Brady said.

According to the county, New Brunswick residents are to be given preference in hiring, but the jobs are open to all Middlesex County residents.

401K savings plans and health benefits are available to employees, including prescription, dental and medical, according to Sheila Lajolie, HR Director for The Fresh Grocer.

The store will also have union benefits for staffers, Lajolie said.

"There's a lot of opportunity for real job growth within our stores," Burns said.

At a forum introducing the initiative to community leaders in New Brunswick, several people inquired about the hiring of veterans and people with criminal records or disabilities.

Lajolie said the existing Fresh Grocer stores do employ people of all those groups, and does work with veterans who are deployed during their employment to try to get them back into a job when they return. 

The application contains a question asking if the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime, and the application process entails a background check, Lajolie said.

If the applicant is honest up front about their record, it usually does not cause a problem in the hiring process, she said.

"If you're honest with us, we give you the same chance as anyone else," she said.