Sakers Offer Sneak Peek into Hazlet ShopRite

By Anastasia Millicker

The Route 35 ShopRite location will open its doors to the public Wednesday morning, but media and elected officials received a sneak peek following Monday's ribbon cutting.

The new store at the Bayshore Shopping Center in Hazlet is more than double the size of the old Route 36 ShopRite, which closes Tuesday night.

The new ShopRite will offer customers a hot buffet bar, as well as a wide variety of freshly prepared entrées and gourmet delicacies, including fresh-baked pizza, fresh-made sushi, a cold buffet bar, a Mediterranean olive bar and cheeses.

The store will have a pharmacy, an in-store café, a specialty cigar shop, and a full-service catering department.

In addition to the free services of an in-store registered dietitian, the location will also offer ShopRite From Home services to the Hazlet community. ShopRite From Home allows customers to place online orders and have store associates shop for them, so they can come by at their convenience and pick up their packaged groceries.

“We are very excited to open the doors of this bigger, better and fresher location on Highway 35 and look forward to continuing our long standing relationship with our Hazlet neighbors,” said Richard Saker, president of Saker ShopRites, Inc, in an address to local dignitaries on Monday morning. “The new ShopRite of Hazlet will represent the traditional low prices and outstanding services that ShopRite has always been famous for, in a brand new 85,000 square foot ‘World Class’ Store.”

Another new feature at the new ShopRite of Hazlet is the ShopRite Culinary Workshop. These weekly, hands-on cooking classes are taught by area professional chefs. For a minimal fee, guests attend a 2-hour class and fully participate in the preparation of an entire meal. Dietary culinary classes will also be offered some of which will be free. A full schedule of classes and menus can be found at ShopRite.com.

The Saker family Shoprite has also pledged to continue to support the local community and has established an annual donation of $10,000 to the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean County to help them serve the nearly 127,000 residents of needs in the area.