By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Three East Windsor Township businesses – a restaurant, a shopping center and a pharmaceutical company – were honored by Township Council for their contributions to the community.
It is an East Windsor Township tradition to recognize businesses – how important they are to the community, how proud the township is of them and how they contribute to the community – every year, Mayor Janice Mironov said.
There are three awards – the Business Beautification Award, the Community Service Award and the Community Enhancement Award, Mayor Mironov said. The East Windsor Township community is invited to nominate companies for those awards.
For 2017, the Beautification Award was given to the East Windsor Village shopping center at Princeton-Hightstown Road and Lanning Boulevard. Anchored by the Target department store, it is a thriving shopping center, Mayor Mironov said.
Patel Brothers Grocery and the Kohl’s department store are recent additions to the shopping center, she said. Other stores include Kay Jewelers and TJ Maxx, all of which contribute to the “great mix” of businesses at the shopping center, she added.
Mayor Mironov noted the ongoing steps that are being taken by Kimco Realty, which owns the East Windsor Village shopping center, to enhance and maintain its appearance. There is always work being done to enhance the grounds and the landscaping, she said.
“It is a very prominent shopping center and it deserves to be recognized,” Mayor Mironov said.
Property manager Matt Kells thanked Township Council for the award. Kimco Realty puts a lot of time, effort and resources into maintaining the shopping center, he said, adding that “it is quite an honor” to receive the award.
The Americana Diner on Route 130 is one of the many businesses “that put East Windsor on the books,” Mayor Mironov said, as she announced that it had been given the Community Service Award.
“The Americana Diner has always taken its civic responsibility seriously,” Mayor Mironov said. “It has a long-standing commitment to the township, working with RISE – A Community Service Project, and also supporting the East Windsor Township Senior Center.”
Mayor Mironov said the Americana Diner was at the top of the list of supporters for the East Windsor Township Senior Center’s annual Thanksgiving luncheon.
Constantine Katsifis, the Americana Diner’s owner, said that helping out with the Thanksgiving luncheon “gives us a lot of happiness (and that) to get an award for it, it’s a little unfair,” as he accepted the award.
The Community Enhancement Award went to Aurobindo Pharma USA, which recently built a 567,000-square-foot warehouse and manufacturing facility on Windsor Center Drive. It is visible from Princeton-Hightstown Road and Old Trenton Road.
The India-based pharmaceutical company completed the project within a year, Mayor Mironov said. Its North American headquarters is located next door in the Patcentre office building on Princeton-Hightstown Road.
Mayor Mironov said Aurobindo’s decision to locate in East Windsor Township will provide a “tremendous boost” in the township’s ability to attract pharmaceutical and high-tech companies to move here.
Aurobindo’s move also will create hundreds of new jobs, Mayor Mironov said.
“We are really happy and proud to be part of East Windsor Township,” said Sanjay Singh, Aurobindo Pharma USA’s senior vice president North America, as he accepted the award from Mayor Mironov and Township Council.
