A wholesale specialty food distributor is planning to open its first brick-and-more grocery store in downtown Hackensack, New Jersey, later this year.
The 3,500-square-foot Maharaja Hypermarket is planned for the ground floor of a new, 82-unit luxury apartment building in a downtown area that is growing rapidly, said Anthony Cassano, vice president of NAI James E. Hanson, the real estate broker that represented both the property owner and the grocer’s parent company, Primwayone.
“I think it’s going to play a valuable role in the resurgence of the city,” said Cassano.
A spokesperson for Primwayone could not be reached for comment. Some local reports speculated that the new store could be operated by Maharaja Store, but a spokesperson for that company said it was an online-only operation and was not involved in the Maharaja Hypermarket in Hackensack.
The downtown Hackensack area, located along the Hackensack river and a short commute from New York City, has been undergoing a revitalization as consumers adopt hybrid lifestyles working from both home and office, Cassano said. He cited a 450-unit apartment building under development across the street from the planned Maharaja Hypermarket, and another 234-unit building a few blocks away.
“This store will attract foot traffic from all those places,” Cassano said.
Maharaja—which can mean “king” or “prince” in multiple South and Southeast Asian languages—will carry a broad selection of grocery items for everyday shoppers rather than focusing on serving a specific ethnic cuisine, he said.
“It won’t just be a convenience store,” Cassano said.
Other nearby grocery options include an Aldi, a Giant Farmers Market, Hackensack Market, and KB’s African Market.
The store is less than a mile from one of the most high-profile developments in downtown Hackensack, a mixed-use residential and retail building called Print House in the building that previously housed the headquarters of The Bergen Record. That building, which has begun leasing many of its planned 653 luxury apartments, will include a 3,000-square-foot Starbucks with outdoor seating and a drive-thru, slated to open this fall, as well as a Jersey Mike’s sandwich shop.
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