Woodbridge Plans To Create 4 New Liquor Licenses At Woodbridge Center Mall

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Last Thursday, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac gave his annual State of the Township address. We already reported Friday a Trader Joe's is coming to Woodbridge,but McCormac said there are "many projects in the pipeline that will see activity in 2025."

And one of them is the Woodbridge Center Mall. First, the Lord & Taylor building at the mall will become a bio-lab testing site. Secondly, Woodbridge Township plans to create four new liquor licenses for sale at the mall, in the hopes that four new entertainment-themed restaurants will open at the mall.

"The most important project on the drawing board remains Woodbridge Center, of the largest malls in the state — which, like most large shopping centers, has struggled recently," McCormac said Thursday.

As previously reported, the ailing mall's mortgage was purchased last year (at "a liquidation price") by a Wall Street investment firm, which then foreclosed on the property and hired Spinoso Real Estate, which specializes in filling mall retail vacancies. Spinoso is currently looking for business tenants to open at Woodbridge Center.

The Township hopes to sweeten the pot by adding four new liquor licenses for sale.

"The owners have committed to keeping the retail theme of the site and they are currently working with Spinoso to attract additional tenants," said McCormac. "A new state law allows a municipality to create four new liquor licenses to be used on the site of large malls and we committed to do just that, hoping that four new entertainment-themed restaurants will become mall tenants."

"It is important to note that we expressed our disdain for any apartments or warehouses on the site other than market-rate senior housing and for-sale ownership units," he added Thursday.

Also, the vacant Lord & Taylor land and building (which, like Macy’s, is owned independently of the mall ownership), recently sold to Accu-Reference Labs, the mayor said. Accu-Reference Labs plans to open there and will hire "several hundred employees in high-paying jobs to the site," said the mayor.

Woodbridge Center Mall Sold To Mystery Buyer At 'Liquidation' Price (April 2024)

Bondholders Lose $155 Million in Sale of New Jersey’s Woodbridge Center Mall (March 2024 CoStar report)

Woodbridge Center Mall Listed For Sale, Contract Negotiations Underway (Feb. 2024)

McCormac also listed other businesses that will happen in Woodbridge in 2025:

• A nearly one-million square foot warehouse in Keasbey on the Raritan River on the Perth Amboy border.
• A warehouse project off Smith Street in Keasbey.
• A predominantly senior-living project in MetroPark.
• The Cloverleaf Center at the corner of Rt. 1 and 35 that will have Sprout’s Organic Farmer’s Market and Sketchers footwear as anchor tenants, along with Ann Taylor Loft, Paris Baguette, Habit Burger, Naya Mediterranean, Laserway and Alpha Fit Club.
• A residential unit complex and new restaurant on Fulton Street off Main Street.
• A new Cambria hotel on Rt. 1 south in Avenel.
• A new restaurant and 38 residential units on the Vito Mazza site on Main Street after Vito Mazza relocated to the Avenue & Green apartment building (Vito Mazza Jr. seeks to build a three-story apartment building at the site of his family's longtime salon at 114 Main Street.)
• A small warehouse on Martin Street in Avenel replacing a junkyard
• A 17-unit residential complex that will provide market-rate senior housing in Menlo Park Terrace

Other projects in the pipeline for this year and 2026:

• Angelina’s Kitchen on upper Main Street, which is opening very soon and "which will be a fantastic addition to our Township," said the mayor.
• 60 units of veterans' housing next to The Greens at Avenel on Rahway Avenue, "where our hero veterans can access programs and services right in their own building."
• A brand new Dolce restaurant in Fords with rooftop dining.
• A self-storage facility at the former site of the Woodbridge Bowling Center on Main Street
• A new Tim Horton’s Coffee House on Inman Avenue in Colonia on the former Wells Fargo Bank site.
• A new restaurant to replace Curtains next to the Avenel Performing Arts Center
• A car assembly operation for Rivian on Rt. 1 south in Iselin at the former Sports Authority store site, where electric vehicles will be serviced and distributed.
• A new restaurant called Violette’s, modeled after Violette’s Cellar in Staten Island with a high-end Italian and contemporary American theme right across from Town Hall underneath the Modera complex
• A business called Wonder that sells prepared meals in multiple cuisines from different popular restaurants at the corner of Rahway Avenue and Green Street.
• Strickland's Steakhouse is considering another restaurant next door at 104 Main Street.

McCormac also listed what opened in 2024 in Woodbridge:

• The long-awaited opening of the Woodbridge History Museum at 86 Green Street, "which is absolutely beautiful and worth a visit between 1-4 on Sundays, with expanded hours coming soon."
• The successful opening of Anchors Tiki Bar on Cliff Road in Sewaren with plans for dredging and additional boat slips including for dock and dine assuming state funding and DEP approval. Read: New Tiki Bar On Woodbridge Waterfront Is Worth Trip Up Smith's Creek
• The opening of Barbells Café at The Club at Woodbridge "that has been equally successful for Club members and for visitors from all over the country who come to play or watch hockey games."
• The sale of land on Port Reading Avenue to the Gurdawara Temple for parking to help keep cars from using street spaces in our neighborhoods.
• The opening of the Mad Hatter cannabis dispensary on Rt. 1 south, which replaced the adult variety center, becoming the second and final marijuana dispensary in Woodbridge.
• The opening of KPot Korean barbecue at the former Blu Ale House site in the ShopRite plaza on Rt. 35
• The opening of Perla Coffee House on Main Street.

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