2nd Supermarket In City Of New Brunswick Fails

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — The second supermarket in the heart of the city of New Brunswick has now closed its doors, and owes the city more than $750,000 in back rent, as well, according to a report in the Bridgewater Courier News.

The SuperFresh, located in a prime, high-traffic location right across the street from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the New Brunswick train station — as well as near several apartment buildings and condos — is no longer open. It closed June 1.

The building at that location, at the corner of French Street (Rt. 27) and Kirkpatrick Street, is actually owned by the New Brunswick Parking Authority.

This is actually the second supermarket that tried to operate there, but without success: A Fresh Grocer used to be in the same spot, but closed down in 2014.

Curiously, the city of New Brunswick announced the Fresh Grocer also owed it $784,000 in back rent, as well.

SuperFresh, owned by owned and operated by Kumkang Fruit & Vegetable Corp., opened a year later, in 2015.

They did not have to pay rent to the city of New Brunswick for the first year of their operation, from May to September 2015.

After that, they began to falter on rent payments, said the city.

From January to June 2016, the annual rent was $88,320 and the monthly rent was $14,720, according to the report.

"When SuperFresh began to falter on their monthly rent payments, in an effort to maintain a downtown supermarket for the benefit and convenience of our residents, the New Brunswick Parking Authority worked closely with SuperFresh management to devise a business plan to maintain the daily operation of the store and to catch up on back payments owed," the City of New Brunswick said in a public statement posted about the matter.

The city of New Brunswick said they reduced space, and gave them a 60 percent reduction in their rent.

"June 28 was agreed upon as the final day of business, but store management moved ahead and closed abruptly over the past weekend," the city said. "We are disappointed by this outcome, but discussions regarding the future of the space are ongoing as we search for new tenants."