Long-Awaited ShopRite Of Wyckoff Finally Opens

WYCKOFF, NJ — It was years in the making, but the long-awaited ShopRite finally opened its doors Sunday.

The Greenwood Avenue store brings more than 200 jobs to the township.

The 62,000-square-foot store features locally-sourced, organic, and gluten-free foods and fresh-cooked food from ShopRite Kitchen, including Asian-inspired ramen, a poke bowl bar. A registered dietitian is also on staff.

Five-year-old Cameron Caprio was the store's first customer. Cameron and his mother visited the store every day while it was being constructed.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Mayor Tom Madigan, and Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips attended the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony.

"I appreciate the Inserra family’s investment, both in their supermarkets and in our community, through their extensive charity work," Gottheimer said. "They are a Jersey institution."

Inserra Supermarkets, the company that owns ShopRite, made a $15,000 donation to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey Sunday.

"ShopRite and the Inserra family are great partners with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey," said Carlos Rodriguez, president and CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. "They understand the importance of fighting food insecurity to better the lives of people in need in the communities where their ShopRite stores operate."

The store will feature several energy-saving measures, including energy-efficient refrigeration and lighting.

The opening comes years after the Mahwah-based Inserra Supermarkets battled with competitor Stop & Shop in court.

Stop & Shop contended that the Wyckoff Planning Board did not have jurisdiction to consider ShopRite's 2010 application because a "supermarket" was not a permitted use in the zone where ShopRite is being built.

ShopRite's application before the Wyckoff Planning Board dates back to 2010 when the first of what would eventually be 38 hearings on the application was held over two years.

The board unanimously approved the application in February 2013, which kicked off the legal battle and series of appeals by Stop & Shop.

The case eventually made its way to the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division where a three-judge panel eventually ruled in favor of ShopRite.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Images:

1: 5-year-old Wyckoff resident Cameron Caprio and his brother, C.J. were the store's first customers. They bought toys and treats.

2: The inside of the ShopRite that opened in Wyckoff Sunday.

3: The ceremonial ribbon cutting at the store.

4: The Inserra family presented a $10,000 check from Inserra Supermarkets Inc. and ShopRite Partners in Caring to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

5: Wyckoff Mayor Tom Madigan attended the store's opening.

(Photos courtesy of Inserra Supermarkets)