FREEHOLD — A building that housed a supermarket for many years will have life once again as a supermarket.
Plans are in place for the Freehold Fresh Market to open before the end of the year in a 26,000-square-foot store on Route 33 (Park Avenue).
The building was previously occupied by Foodtown, which closed on June 29.
The owner of the Freehold Fresh Market, Neftali Medina, said he is working with Freehold Borough officials to obtain final approval for the store, and with food inspectors for licenses and permits. He said he hopes to open the store before Christmas, “if not, then before the new year.”
“I chose the location when I read an article which said (Foodtown) was closing. I fell in love with the store and the beautiful town,” Medina said.
Freehold Fresh Market will be a community store with an owner on premises, according to Medina.
Plans are in place for the store to be open seven days per week from 6 a.m. to midnight. Interviewing and hiring for many store positions is taking place now.
Medina’s son, also named Neftali, will be the co-owner of the store.
The store will feature a deli, a prepared foods buffet, a bakery, a seafood section and a meat department with a butcher.
“We are very excited to have the store reopen. Our residents have missed the store while it has been closed. It is not only a place to shop, but a place to visit with their neighbors and friends, and a source of employment,” Mayor Nolan Higgins said.
The mayor said he is looking forward to having the owners as members of the borough’s business community.