Retail tenants of all types are looking toward the Empire State and the Garden State for expansion. Entertainment venues, grocery stores, quick-service restaurants, clothing shops, gyms, nail salons and even dentist offices all look toward these Northeast powerhouse markets for new locations.
Just Salad fills a 2,500-s.f. space at Clearmeadow Plaza in East Meadow, N.Y. The quick-service restaurant chain has over 80 locations across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The lease transaction was arranged and negotiated on behalf of the landlord by the Breslin organization. Additional Clearmeadow Plaza retailers include Walmart, Stop & Shop, CVS Pharmacy, Bank of America, Chase Bank, AAA and Mama Theresa’s.
CityPickle will open a 37,000-s.f. pickleball venue in the Times Square area of Midtown Manhattan. The space will be located on the eighth floor of the 885,000-s.f. tower, which is known locally as the Paramount Building due to its original construction as the home of Paramount Pictures. The venue will feature seven courts, a bar and restaurant, as well as a lounge, an event space and locker rooms. The location will also serve as CityPickle’s new corporate headquarters. The opening is scheduled for early next year.
Supermarket chain, SuperFresh will open a 22,500-s.f. grocery store in Queens. The store will be located in the Jamaica neighborhood within Ruby Square, a 614-unit newly developed apartment building by BRP Companies. The lease term is 25 years and RIPCO Real Estate represented SuperFresh in the lease negotiations. The store is set to open next spring.
Five Iron Golf will open a 15,856-s.f. entertainment venue in Brooklyn during the second quarter of 2026. The space spans the ground floor and lower level of 25 Kent, a 500,000-s.f. office building, and will include 13 simulators, a 7,000-s.f. gym and a bar and kitchen. CBRE represented Five Iron Golf in the lease negotiations. Newmark represented the landlord, Global Holdings.
Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace recently opened a 39,000-s.f. store in the Long Island community of Bohemia, N.Y. The company specializes in Italian food and shopping and backfilled a former Babies ‘R’ Us space at Sayville Plaza. The new store marks Uncle Giuseppe’s twelfth location, expanding across New Jersey, Long Island and Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Breslin Realty represented the landlord in the lease negotiations on an internal basis.
Nordstrom Rack opened a 25,000-s.f. store in Lake Grove, N.Y., on Long Island. The space is located within the 150,000-s.f. Smith Haven Plaza shopping center. Other tenants at the shopping center include Trader Joe’s, Old Navy, Athleta and Ulta Beauty. A partnership between Breslin Realty Development Corp. and Colin Development LLC owns Smith Haven Plaza.
Two new entertainment operators, Gatsby’s Board Game Café and I.FLY Trapeze, will open venues at Samanea New York, a 750,000-s.f. entertainment destination on Long Island. Gatsby’s is an interactive experience with a library of more than 400 games that are available to buy and/or play onsite. I.FLY Trapeze offers open-fly sessions, workshops, parties and corporate team-building events. Lesso Mall Development owns Samanea New York.
Fitness operator Iron Culture Gym opened a 26,000-s.f. flagship facility in West Orange, N.J., about 20 miles west of Manhattan. The space formerly housed a 1950s-era bowling alley known as Eagle Rock Lanes. Titan Construction Management served as the general contractor for the adaptive reuse project. New Jersey-based Sym Heller Development & Management owns the building
Bounce Air Adventure Park will open a 21,000-s.f. entertainment venue in the Northern New Jersey community of Franklin. The space is located within the 268,000-s.f. Rutgers Plaza shopping center and will feature a ropes course, climbing structures, obstacle course, mini basketball court and a jungle gym with slides. Sholom & Zuckerbrot Realty represented Bounce Air in the lease negotiations. Levin Management Corp. leases and manages Rutgers Plaza.
Levin Management Corp. (LMC) also welcomed four new tenants to the 420,000-s.f. Blue Star Shopping Center in the Northern New Jersey community of Watchung. The leases with Burlington, Taco Bell, Nail Spa & Beyond and Marshalls total roughly 62,200 s.f. Marshalls will relocate to a 27,000-s.f. portion of a building formerly occupied by ShopRite, which is also being redeveloped to accommodate Burlington. Taco Bell opened a 2,900-s.f. restaurant, while Nail Spa & Beyond will operate a 5,800-s.f. salon. LMC represented ownership in the lease negotiations. CNS Real Estate represented Burlington, while Welco Realty Inc. represented Marshalls. Summit Realty represented Taco Bell.
Total Wine & More opened a 32,000-s.f. store in North Brunswick, located in central New Jersey. Total Wine joins Trader Joe’s as the anchor tenant at the 124,000-s.f. North Village Shopping Center, which is now fully leased. Levin Management Corp. represented the undisclosed landlord in the lease negotiations. RIPCO Real Estate represented Total Wine.
MB Dental Care is coming to The Nell, Prism Capital Partners’ mixed-use transit-oriented community in downtown Dunellen, N.Y. The 3,800-s.f. lease brings The Nell’s freestanding retail building at 100 South Washington Avenue to 100% occupancy. Jeffery Realty represented Prism in the lease transaction.
