Wyckoff ShopRite Could Open Next Month

WYCKOFF, NJ — The long-anticipated ShopRite store is expected to open next month.

Mayor Brian Scanlan said Larry Inserra, Inserra Supermarkets Inc.'s chairman and chief executive officer wanted to open the store before Thanksgiving when ground was broken on the store in April.

Inserra could not be reached for comment. Two ShopRite spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment.

"I think many people are looking forward to having a choice. My family uses the ShopRite up in Ramsey, so it’ll be nice to have something closer to home," said Mayor Brian Scanlan. "I think it’ll bring some more people downtown. We had an eyesore there for many years and it’s great to see a brand-new supermarket on the site."

The 62,000-square-foot store at Greenwood and Wyckoff avenues will feature locally-sourced produce and a health and wellness department with a registered dietitian.

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

The opening comes years after the Mahwah-based Inserra Supermarkets, which owns ShopRite, 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 a three-judge panel eventually ruled in favor of ShopRite.

Demolition work at the site began in December 2016.

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