SECAUCUS, NJ — Friday is a historic day for the town of Secaucus: That’s because the town’s new grocery store just opened. It will now be open daily, seven days a week, from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
This is the grocery store called Grocery Square, located in the prime real estate parcel where Paterson Plank Road and Flanagan Way intersect with First Street, in what used to be a martial arts/taekwondo building. The taekwondo studio closed and moved out years ago, and the building has sat vacant ever since. It was falling into disrepair.
What you need to know: Is this an Indian grocery store? The answer is no, but also yes. Owner Sachin Goel has taken pains to stock the store with hundreds of American grocery items, such as name-brand breads, bagels, Italian specialty meats, cheese, milk, potato chips, soft drinks and more. There is a big fresh produce section right in the front of the store.
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But there is also a huge amount of Indian groceries, frozen foods, specialty Indian cooking oils and Indian spices, not to mention frozen Indian meals and a prepared foods area that is called “Cafe & Curry.”
Sachin Goel lives in Secaucus, with his wife and children, who were all present for the ribbon cutting at 11 Friday morning. In fact, he lives within walking distance of his store. He opened the grocery store with several partners, all of whom already own existing Indian grocery stores throughout North Jersey, he said. They helped provide funding for the Secaucus store.
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Goel, who is Indian-American, stressed that he wants his market to be a place for everybody in town to buy their groceries:
“I would not call this an Indian grocery store, I would call this an American grocery store,” he told Patch. “Yes, we have Indian groceries here; we have a huge variety of exotic spices, teas that are hard to find elsewhere. But we also have a premium meat selection. We have red meat, chicken. We are located in the heart of town and we really want this to be a market for everyone in the community. If you do not see something here that you need, tell us. We are not a big corporate chain. Tell one of the managers directly and we will stock it for you.”
Goel has been working to get the grocery store open for the past three years. At the ribbon cutting Friday, he and Mayor Mike Gonnelli acknowledged how long its taken to open.
What was the reason for the delay? Goel was coy.
“When you are opening a property of this size, there are a lot of hurdles you have to overcome,” was all he would say. “The mayor wanted us to open and he has been tremendously helpful in this process.”
Gonnelli seemed ebullient Friday morning that the grocery store was finally open.
“All I want to say we waited a long time for a supermarket in Secaucus!” exclaimed the town’s mayor before he cut the ribbon.
Goel said it’s about time Secaucus had its own grocery store.
“When I first moved here in 2013, that’s all anyone can say in this town: We don’t have our own grocery store. The only place we have is Walmart and the farmers’ market. Which I really don’t want to say anything bad about, but you still can’t get everything you there. I would not call that a supermarket.”
There are still parts Goel wants to open: A section called “Cafe & Curry,” where you can get prepared foods to go. (These will be Indian meals.) And he also plans to open a bakery, where croissants and pastries will be baked in house, he says.
“I’ve lived in Secaucus for the past nine years,” Goel first told Patch in this 2022 interview when he first announced his grocery store would open. “I always just intended to stay in this town for two to three years, but I realized this is such a great town. The one thing we have been missing is a supermarket. Yes, there is the Walmart but it’s so crowded and chaotic there. This will be a real full-service supermarket right in the center of town.”
There used to be an Acme where the Secaucus CVS is; then there was a Stop & Shop near where Bob’s Furniture is located. But both closed many years ago. Since then, Walmart has been the only supermarket in town. The farmers’ market in Plaza Center now has a fishmonger and butcher.
The property is owned by J&A Managing Estates LLC, a privately owned company that owns several other large tracts of land in Secaucus. J&A Managing Estates is owned by Raj Patel, who also owns the drugstore next to Krauszer’s on Meadowlands Parkway and Harmony Suites hotel. Goel is leasing the space from landlord Patel. Patel was not present at the ribbon cutting Friday morning. Gonnelli and many members of the town Council were there. The mood at the ribbon cutting was celebratory and positive, as Goel gave the mayor and council an elaborate tour of his new store. Gonnelli seemed very happy the new grocery store is now open for business.
Address: Grocery Square, located at 845 First Street, a 20,000-square foot building. There are spaces for 36 cars in the lot.
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