Kerrie Joyce 
Sunrise ShopRite, a North Jersey grocery chain, announced plans for West Caldwell’s longtime store, located at 540 Passaic Avenue to be replaced by a new store at 900 Bloomfield Avenue. The announcement was received with mixed reactions from community members, as the updated grocery store is seen as beneficial despite the Passaic store being a beloved community landmark. The existing ShopRite location at Passaic Avenue has been open since 1967, and is set to permanently close on October 18th at 6PM. Read on to learn more about the West Caldwell ShopRite’s reputation in the community and what to expect in the transition to the new store location.
The Legacy of the 540 Passaic Avenue ShopRite
The Sunrise ShopRite grocery company is owned by the Gladstein-Sblendorio family, and has had a presence throughout New Jersey since Nathan Gladstein opened the first store in 1940. Per NJ.com, the West Caldwell ShopRite was one of the earlier sites of the Jersey-based chain, opened in 1967 after the family business had been passed down two generations, from Nathan to Irving Gladstein, and from Irving to Ned Gladstein.
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What set the 540 Passaic Avenue store location apart from the rest was its Asian-inspired interior design. Said to be inspired by Irving Gladstein’s time spent in Japan during WWII and other visits to the country, the design of the store featured a pagoda tile rooftop on the exterior, telephone booths also featuring the tile and Japanese lettering, wall art, aisle signage, and more. Since the Japanese design elements are not replicated in other locations of the store, the store’s closure is felt by many in the community as a loss of history and charm.
Community Celebrates New Location
The new location at 900 Bloomfield Avenue is set to open on Tuesday, October 21st, ushering community members into the updated store with a parade launching from the 540 Passaic Avenue store toward the new setting. Celebrating the iconic status that the store has acquired in the region, the grocer is inviting community members to attend the parade beginning at 8:45AM at the closed location, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new store at 9:15AM, and doors opening to shoppers at 9:30AM.
Per NJ Biz, the new “state of the art” store will have plenty of space for inventory, amassing nearly 90,000 square feet. To preserve part of the previous store’s legacy, the iconic telephone booths will be incorporated into the new location.
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