New ShopRite for West Belmar Officially Approved

Say goodbye to the sad, empty Foodtown space on Rt. 35 North in Wall/West Belmar!

Get ready for a beautiful, new ShopRite on the corner of 18th Avenue and Rt. 35 North! The planning board on Monday (9/9/19) finally approved what for years was a giant rumor (or worst-kept secret, lol!)

The plans for the new building will really refresh a section of Wall that has started to look sad and drab. Seeing that old Foodtown building sit empty was really quite depressing.

Now that site plans and variances have been approved, Saker can move forward! The Saker-owned ShopRites are as popular as a grocery store can be so we KNOW they will do it right, AND keep people in that neighborhood from having to travel all the way down to Manasquan or up to Neptune to go to one of the other 'big' Shop Rites!

Sources say it was a unanimous approval and the new store will be over 81,000 square feet, taking over not only the old Foodtown but the lot next to it (which used to be an auto body shop.)

The new ShopRite, once built, will face Rt. 35, whereas the old Foodtown faced 18th Ave. No word yet on when construction will begin.

I am super excited for this, but it sure will give Whole Foods down the street a run for their money!

My questions are these: Is what I've heard true -- that the 'old' ShopRite across the street will be turned into a Dearborn Farms? Will the current Dunkin attached to the old Foodtown be relocated inside the new ShopRite? And will traffic become a (ahem) 'challenge' at that intersection? (At least there's already a traffic light there.)