Wakefern to unveil new Elizabeth, N.J. warehouse

KEASBEY, N.J. — Wakefern Food, a retailer-owned cooperative, is celebrating on Thursday the opening of its newest warehouse facility in Elizabeth, N.J., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

This 524,000-sq.-ft. facility replaces the former Wakefern grocery warehouse at the same site and increases storage capabilities by more than 58% to better distribute nonperishable food products to ShopRite, PriceRite and the Fresh Grocer stores across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia.



In addition to the expanded square footage, this new building will feature 36-ft. high ceilings, increasing the storage space significantly. With a current total of 345 associates, the facility will bring a projected 150 additional permanent jobs to the city over a 10-year period.



In June 2011, Wakefern transitioned its non-perishable operations to a temporary facility in Carteret, N.J., to allow for the demolition and subsequent re-construction of its original grocery warehouse in Elizabeth, which was built in the late 1950s. This new location was completed in November 2013 and was fully operational by February of this year.