By January 2, 2027, the Kings at Washington Avenue and Broadway in Hillsdale will be closed. The Fresh Market in Montvale closed this spring. The Trader Joe's proposed for that empty Montvale space still needed more permit approvals as of late August. For the coming winter, Woodcliff Lake's grocery options come down to two roads. Chestnut Ridge Road runs through the borough, and Kinderkamack Road runs through Park Ridge and Emerson. The Broadway stop in Hillsdale drops off the list.
The closings themselves are already public. What's useful to know is where your weekly shopping can go between now and whenever Montvale's new store opens.
What Kings Said on Monday
Pascack Press reported on October 5 that Kings Food Markets will close its Hillsdale supermarket "no later than Jan. 2, 2027," because the store's lease is ending. Hillsdale is one of two New Jersey Kings stores closing. The other is in White House Station in Hunterdon County, and together the two closings could affect up to 122 employees. The company filed a WARN notice with the state, and NJBIZ covered the filing on October 3.
Dana Ward, a spokeswoman for Albertsons Supermarkets, explained the decision in terms of real estate, not sales:
"With the lease for these locations coming to an end, we made the decision to focus our resources on other locations."
Kings still operates 16 stores in New Jersey, and the company said it will try to place affected workers at other locations. The closing report doesn't say what will go into the store at 381 Washington Avenue, and it includes no comment from Hillsdale officials or the landlord. From what has been published so far, nothing is known about that corner's next use.
The Montvale Space Has Been Waiting Since Spring
The Kings news hits harder because Montvale already lost its upscale grocer this year. NJBIZ reported in January that The Fresh Market planned to leave its Montvale lease, with 55 layoffs expected by April 12. The state's WARN archive lists those layoffs as effective 4/12/26. The store sat in the Chestnut Ridge Shopping Center on Chestnut Ridge Road. That center is owned by Regency Centers, a commercial real estate firm based in Jacksonville, Florida.
A Trader Joe's was proposed for the empty space, along with new pad-site restaurants near Drop Fitness for Shake Shack, CAVA and Honeygrow. The application lists the shopping center property as 1–30 Chestnut Ridge Road.
The public record shows the plan moving slowly. At the Montvale Planning Board's January 20, 2026 hearing, the applicant said it had addressed technical comments, but several variances were still in play. It also said Bergen County's planning review was still pending and no formal county comments had come in yet. On August 27, NorthJersey.com reported that the proposal was still working its way through local planning and permitting and that "it could be some time" before shoppers see the store. Trader Joe's itself had not announced a location or timeline for Montvale when NJBIZ covered the Fresh Market closing.
So by early January, both of the specialty grocers that bracketed Woodcliff Lake to the north and south will be closed. The only replacement on the table is a project that was still waiting on permits this summer.
Chestnut Ridge Road Carries Most of the Load
With Broadway in Hillsdale out, Chestnut Ridge Road becomes the borough's main grocery corridor. Most of what's left sits on or near it.
Whole Foods is the anchor, and it's inside the borough at 500 Chestnut Ridge Road, Woodcliff Lake. It's the only full-service supermarket in this roundup with a Woodcliff Lake address. Once Kings closes, it will also be the only one of these stores in the specialty-grocer category that is actually open.
Down the road at 441 Chestnut Ridge Road, Tice's Corner Marketplace covers the quick-meal side. Its current directory lists Panera, which it describes as a bakery-café, and Bareburger. The center's site says its restaurants and some stores are open Sundays, and it advises checking each business for its own hours.
Head north into Montvale and the corridor gets to the Chestnut Ridge Shopping Center, where the old Fresh Market space waits on its Trader Joe's. Montvale's other large grocery option is Wegmans at 100 Farm View. A shopper who once split trips between Kings in Hillsdale and The Fresh Market in Montvale will be choosing between Whole Foods in town and Wegmans in Montvale this winter.
Kinderkamack Road and the Trader Joe's That Already Exists
The other route runs east along Kinderkamack Road through Park Ridge and Emerson, with a nearby stop in Westwood:
- Lidl, 199 Kinderkamack Road, Park Ridge
- Stop & Shop, 600 Kinderkamack Road, Emerson
- Trader Joe's, 20 Irvington Street, Westwood
The Westwood store is easy to forget amid the Montvale news. Trader Joe's already has a store in the Pascack Valley, and its own locator lists it at the Irvington Street address. For anyone waiting on the Montvale location, Westwood is the option available right now, not a future one.
Between the two corridors, every remaining store is a different kind of shop. Whole Foods and Wegmans are large full-service stores. Lidl and Stop & Shop are conventional supermarkets on Kinderkamack. Trader Joe's in Westwood fills the specialty-and-prepared-foods slot that Kings and The Fresh Market used to cover on either side of the borough.
October's Last Outdoor Options
For a few more weeks, there's still a seasonal alternative. River Vale Township's farmers market runs Thursdays from 1 to 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 406 Rivervale Road, from May through October. Today is October 7, so four market days are left: October 8, 15, 22 and 29. The township lists no November dates, and its page says vendor lineups can change.
Back on Chestnut Ridge Road, Tice's Corner Marketplace hosts its Fall Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Planned activities include trick-or-treating, face painting, games and a costume contest. It's a kids' event more than a shopping trip, but it's at the same address as the Panera and Bareburger stop.
After the River Vale market wraps on October 29, the outdoor option is gone until spring, and the indoor map above is all that's left.
Three Dates and One Open Question Before January
How the borough's grocery map looks by early 2027 depends on a few specific things, all of them public.
Kings' last day in Hillsdale
The company has committed only to "no later than Jan. 2, 2027." The store could close earlier, and no exact final day has been announced.
Montvale's next Planning Board action
The January transcript shows variances and the county review still unresolved. The August 27 NorthJersey.com report said the project still needed more permit approvals. The Shake Shack, CAVA and Honeygrow pad sites are on the same track and remain proposals. Montvale posts its planning board materials on montvalenj.gov, which is the first place a resolution would show up.
The Hillsdale corner
The Pascack Press closing report doesn't mention any plans for the space at Washington Avenue and Broadway after Kings leaves. Pascack Press broke the closing news, and it's the most likely outlet to report what comes next there.
Store hours and offerings change, so check each store's own page before you plan your week. For now, the Whole Foods at 500 Chestnut Ridge Road is the only full-service supermarket left with a Woodcliff Lake address.
A store closing changes your daily routine before it changes anything else, and those everyday details are a big part of how we talk with neighbors about where they live and where they might go next. If you're curious how changes like these around the Pascack Valley fit into your own plans, The Ramundo Team would be glad to talk it through over coffee, maybe even one from Tice's Corner. Schedule a Consultation whenever it suits you.
