Jersey City 'Community Eatery' Closes Due To Coronavirus

JERSEY CITY, NJ — It was a restaurant with heart, located on a corner in an "underserved" part of Jersey City, said its four founders — but Square1JC Community Eatery in Jersey City couldn't leap the hurdle of coronavirus.

The quirky four-year-old restaurant, which served up unique food including farm-to-table and vegan dishes and most recently featured West African art in the window, closed on Aug. 1. But its founders will still participate in programs to get food to the needy in the state's second most populous city.

The eatery opened in 2016 in the Journal Square section. The founders noted that they were "just a 12-minute walk north from the Journal Square PATH station."

"We are sending a huge hug and thank you to all our friends, loyal customers, and staff who contributed to our double-digit year-over-year increases until — COVID-19," wrote the founders on Facebook. "We took a chance on a location in an underserved community (and many thought we were crazy). Owners: Mory, Nick, Laura, and Marty set out on yet another place-making project — it worked!"

They had said they met through the Jersey City Parks Coalition.

The message noted, "We showed that high quality food prepared well costs the same in any neighborhood and there will always be people who appreciate it. We are proud of staying true to ourselves and our core albeit slightly quirky values."

The restaurant is now for sale. It's located in a growing central part of the city with a transportation center, art gallery, and big and small developments including several by the Kushner families.

But while the restaurant is closing, its founders will still serve the area's population: “What’s next? We will continue to make and deliver meals out of the Square 1 space as co-founders of @hudsoncountyhungerproject through the end of August and transition over to supporting this growing initiative full-time and the rewarding work feeding our country’s most vulnerable communities along with our 6 other restaurant partners."

Other restaurant closures

It's not the only eatery that closed recently after helping perk up a Jersey City neighborhood. The Coffee Factory on West Side Avenue, which hosted small readings and events, announced in spring that it would close due to the ramifications of the virus.

Last month, an award-winning Hoboken eatery, Cucharamama, announced it would close because of the virus as well. It was located on the west side of town, across the street from the mile-square city's only hospital.

Businesses in New Jersey may apply from a variety of government programs to help them pay rent and salaries, but not everyone is able to obtain the loans and grants, and some find that they are not enough. One program provides up to $10,000 for rent.

Coronavirus trends

As of Thursday, 165,000 Americans had died of coronavirus, with many states reaching record daily death rates in July (see the daily totals in each state here). States around the country have pulled back on their reopenings, including Texas, which closed bars after seeing record numbers of hospitalizations and deaths.

In New Jersey on Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy said the number of coronavirus cases statewide has risen to 186,594, with 14,054 confirmed deaths. That included 699 new cases since the day before and eight newly confirmed deaths. The daily death rate in New Jersey has been declining since back on April 30, when it reached a peak of 460 residents in 24 hours.

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