Westfield

[byarvin]

So that food shopping thread below left me with a burning question. Why is it that Westfield, one of the most beautiful and upscale towns in this part of New Jersey has no place to buy fine ingredients?

There are certainly many fine dining restaurants, a nice cooking school, and a favorite gleato parlor, but no real upscale grocery options.

It's true that Westfieledians (Westfieldinos?...Westfieldonians?) can drive to the ethnic superstores in Edison and Woodbridge but that doesn't really answer the question.

From the fillets-only fish store the common-in-Westfield comment that they "don't need a fine foods store since they already have Trader Joe's," the place cries out for more and better.

As always, I am puzzled...

[mikec]

I think that several things come into play. The town itself has an reputation as a quaint, colonial town. Most development projects raise the ire of the citizens of Westfield. They don't want the traffic, the congestion, ruining the image, etc. In addition, it is pretty built up and there isn't much space available to allow for expansion.

A few years ago, Shop Rite wanted to build a new store on North Avenue in Westfield. The town shot down the idea citing the reasons above. Shop Rite still built the store, about 100 feet east on the same street with the entrance facing the other direction. The difference being that the extra 100 or so feet put the entrance of the store in neighboring Garwood. The traffic is still there, but the tax revenue isn't.

I grew up in Westfield, moved to NYC post college and have moved back. It is amazing to see the changes that have taken place. Westfield has become an outdoor mall with Banana Republic, The Gap, Gap Kids, Bombay, Williams Sonoma, Jos. A. Banks, Sam Goody, Starbucks, and soon to come...Coach. Even though I'm sad that some of the mom and pop stores have closed only to be replaced by chain stores, I'd much rather see the chain than empty store fronts.

Getting back to the topic, as I mentioned above, I think that it is fairly difficult to develop new property in Westfield. On Raritan Road in Clark (next door to Westfield) there has been a vacant A&P for at least ten years now. It's a giant lot with ample parking. The existing structure would have to be torn down. I'm always curious why a Lowes, Home Depot, Wegmans, etc. doesn't make use of the space.

[alembic54]

It blows my mind why Wegman's is not expanding more in North Jersey. Kings is a shadow of its former self; Shop Rite is hit and miss (depending on who owns which store(s)-->all of the Village Shop-Rites near me in Livingston are dumps!). I know wegman's is opening soon in Woodbridge but Wegmans could make a killing in Union/Essex and Bergen Counties with all of the per capita wealth in those areas and lots of interested foodies. I wonder if its the fact that their super stores are so big and they just won't expand into the areas i mentioned becuase of the price of real estate. They'd have a captive audience if they did.

Jeff

[tommy]

i'd agree with jeff re wegmans and northern NJ. i live in bergen county, and i'm pretty sure a wegman's would go over very well. in fact, instead of that ikea they're building in paramus, i'd rather see a wegmans.

[byarvin]

I think these comments are really helping me phrase the sort of question I'm trying to ask.

My question now seems to be morphing into "Why do we think affluence and quality food shopping go together?" Very few of New Jersey's better food stores are in affluent neighborhoods and Edison, just south of - and much poorer than Westfield, has an amazing variety of food possibilities. Indeed, the new Wegmans seems to be positioned to take advantage of this rather any sort of economic demographic.

Are the wealthier Westfieldians just cooking at home less or is there something else at work here?

[tommy]

i was serious when i suggested that upper-middle class white folk "settle". generally speaking, my upper-middle class white friends know dick about food, nor do they care. they can shop the shit out of any town, however.

[alembic54]

Sorry if I sounded like an elitist; I didn't mean to. Believe me, I'm not well to do (i just have champagne taste on a beer budget!...I don't save a lot but i enjoy life!)

A lot of people I know here just complain about the markets all the time. Maybe people here in NJ just like to go out and have good food prepared for them in good restaurants. You would think with the economy being what it is more people would want to save money and cook at home. When I think about what I spend in good restaurants, you could eat really well for HALF of that at the most at home. Maybe we don't have the ability that chefs have but I know that I really enjoy cooking and am pretty good in the kitchen. I just wish there were better food sources here. I work about half the time in the city so at least I pick stuff up there some times. On a positive note, I've been going to the Whole foods in Madison lately and while its not New York quality, its meat, produce and cheese departments beat the crap out of anything else around here. They also have Peet's coffee! But i still wish wegman's would move closer; Bridgewater is about 30 miles from me and Woodbridge is probably 25.

Jeff

[Msk]

Love Wegmans. Went to school in Ithaca, NY and I really miss that place. I agree it puts Kings to shame.

Msk