The largest retail space in the Ironbound section of Newark’s East Ward will soon be occupied again.
Seabra Foods will open a location within the Ferry Plaza at 281 Ferry Street, according to a listing from Greenwich, Connecticut-based Urstadt Biddle Properties (UBP). The 63,433- square-foot space was previously occupied by an Acme supermarket, which shut its doors in 2017 after being open for less than two years. Before that, a Pathmark location operated in the plaza, but the supermarket closed when The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company filed for bankruptcy.
Although Seabra Foods is headquartered in Newark and is an affiliate of the city’s Seabra Group, it has locations throughout the east coast, including in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Florida. There are already three stores in the Ironbound along with markets in Harrison, Kearny, and Hillside. The chain specializes in international foods from countries such as Portugal, Brazil, and Spain.
According to a statement from UBP, Seabra’s newest location will be the company’s flagship store and will also include a wholesale club. It is expected to open its doors by the end of 2018.
“Acme struggled to merchandise the store in a manner that met the preferences of the local community, so we reached an agreement with Acme for an early termination of its lease and re-leased the store to Seabra,” UBP said in the statement.
The opening of this Seabra Foods location comes as other supermarkets throughout Newark have opened and closed recently. While Whole Foods Market opened last year on Broad Street and ShopRite opened on Springfield Avenue in 2015, a Key Food location farther west on Springfield Avenue lasted less than a year and closed at the beginning of 2014. The space now contains a Save-A-Lot. Meanwhile, at the corner of South Orange Avenue and Bergen Street, the former Pathmark space is expected to be converted into an LA Fitness gym.
