Several new businesses have opened recently along the Central Avenue corridor in The Heights neighborhood of Jersey City, and more are coming.
El Gordo Restaurant is about to open for business at 291 Central Avenue. The family-owned restaurant specializes in Peruvian cuisine, and menu items range from ceviche and arroz con pollo to seafood dishes. The chain was founded in Passaic County in 1997, and currently has three additional locations in Passaic and Paterson.
“Everyone here has been so welcoming which confirms we made the right decision to expand into Hudson County”, El Gordo CEO Lizeth Morales said in a statement, adding that “we are ready to take Jersey City’s Restaurant Row up a notch with a new flavor of Peruvian cuisine”.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Councilman Michael Yun, and other local leaders took part in a ribbon cutting for the new restaurant on December 16th. It was originally slated to open on December 23rd, but the opening date has been pushed back due to delays with inspections, according to the business Instagram account. It officially opened on January 1st.
All of the retail spaces in the building were recently renovated. The space that now contains El Gordo was previously occupied by Central Bagel.
Many other businesses opened in this part of The Heights in the past few months, including Tropix Juice in the former Central Market space at 245 Central Avenue, Toy and Game World at 298 Central Avenue, Wonder Bagels at 331 Central Avenue, New Heights Art Supply at 354 Central Avenue, and Dulce de Leche Bakery at 376 Central Avenue.
According to the Central Avenue Business Improvement District, several other shops will also open along the block. HomeTowne RX, a Trenton-area pharmacy, will open at 267 Central Avenue, Juice Plant Organic Juicery is coming to 329 Central Avenue, and Cuteticles Nail and Spa just opened on December 28th at 410 Central Avenue.
