Stop & Shop gave October 22 as the final day for its store at 219 Elm Street. Going into Thanksgiving, the grocery store left on that street is Trader Joe's at 155 Elm Street. The big supermarket cart goes to stores in neighboring towns. The dishes people build the table around, like a roasted turkey, the sides and the pies, still come from downtown. Those items have to be ordered ahead, so this year's real deadline comes from a caterer on Cumberland Street and the bakeries on Broad and Elm, not from a supermarket's hours.
What Left Elm Street, and What Stayed
The closing was announced in July and given a firm date in September. A Stop & Shop spokesperson told NJ.com that the company "has made the difficult decision to close our store located at 219 Elm Street, in Westfield, New Jersey, after a routine evaluation of our store operations." The company also said its associates could transfer to other Stop & Shop locations. It described the decision as independent of any wider plan, with no other closings planned in this market at the time.
Trader Joe's is close by. NJBIZ put Trader Joe's less than a quarter-mile from the Stop & Shop, on the same street. For a quick stop on foot or a mid-week top-up, the walk to Elm Street hardly changes. A full Thanksgiving list, with a whole turkey and everything around it, is a bigger order.
Where the Full Cart Goes Now
For a supermarket-sized shop, the closest options are now in neighboring towns. ShopRite's store locator lists four stores within a short drive of Westfield:
- ShopRite of Garwood, 563 North Avenue East, Garwood
- ShopRite of Clark, 76 Central Avenue, Clark
- ShopRite of Watchung, 1701 Route 22 West, Watchung
- ShopRite of Union, 2401D US Highway 22 W, Union
For shoppers who want to stay with the same chain, NJ.com named Watchung, Berkeley Heights, Union and South Orange as the closest Stop & Shop locations still open. The Garwood ShopRite's address is on North Avenue East, the same road name Bagel Cafe NJ uses in Westfield. The Watchung and Union ShopRites put the rest of the bulk shopping on Route 22.
That changes the timing. A Route 22 trip in the days before Thanksgiving is a separate drive to plan for. The parts of the meal that stay in Westfield work the same way, because each one comes with a date attached.
The Downtown Half Runs on a Calendar
Feast Catering & Cafe, at 401B Cumberland Street, has posted a full holiday timeline. Its Thanksgiving Menu 2026 includes roast turkey, sides, and apple and pumpkin pies, and the schedule is fixed:
- October 1: orders opened.
- Tuesday, November 17, at 1 p.m.: last day to order. Orders are taken by phone at (908) 873-2750. The minimum order is $200, and a $100 deposit holds it.
- Wednesday, November 25, 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: pickup window, the afternoon before Thanksgiving.
The 3:30 p.m. cutoff on the Wednesday is a hard one. The menu lists Feast's regular Wednesday hours as 11:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., so the holiday pickup fits inside a normal afternoon.
Dessert is on Broad Street and Elm Street. Bovella's Pastry Shoppe, at 101 E. Broad Street, keeps a Thanksgiving collection of pies on its website. It has not posted 2026 order dates, so call the shop to confirm timing. On Elm Street, Kirshenbaum Baking Co. runs its Westfield bakery at 62 Elm Street. Farinolio, at 218 E. Broad Street, is a Tuscan restaurant with an Italian bakery cafe that bakes fresh every day.
The newest food shop on this list opened just weeks before the supermarket closed. Bagel Cafe NJ held its Westfield grand opening on September 14 at 272 North Ave. East. Co-owners Craig and Christina Bass told TAPinto Westfield that it is their third location. The menu covers hand-rolled bagels, house-roasted turkey, breads and coffee. The cafe hasn't published a Thanksgiving menu. For the long weekend, it covers bread for the table, a turkey sandwich on Friday or coffee for a house full of guests.
Nothing Announced Yet for 219 Elm
The split may last past this season. Mayor Jeremy Berman spoke to Patch about the site in July:
"This store has been an important part of our community for many years, and we recognize that this announcement is concerning for both its employees and the residents who rely on it."
Patch also reported Berman as saying the property is privately owned, sold in the first quarter of 2026, and that the town has no role in deciding its future use. He described the new owners as known for "acquiring, repositioning, and re-tenanting commercial properties" rather than residential development, and said he expected them to do the same here. The Westfield Leader carried the same account of the owners' history.
Zoning sets the outer limits. In March 2026 the town adopted an ordinance placing 219 Elm, along with 195, 203 and 233 Elm, in the Elm Street Affordable Housing District. The district allows mixed commercial and residential use with nonresidential space on the ground floor, up to four floors and 25 units per acre, with 20 percent of units set aside as affordable housing. The town said it will stay in touch with the owners and share updates when it has them. No tenant has been named, so the Route 22 runs and the downtown order deadlines will carry the holiday season.
The Saturday After Runs Downtown All Day
Thanksgiving falls on November 26. That Saturday, November 28, Westfield's calendar packs three events into one day, and together they keep people downtown from morning to evening:
- Westfield Turkey Trot, Tamaques Park. The 5280 Run starts at 10:15 a.m., the PracticeHard Mile at 10:40 a.m. and the 5-mile race at 11:15 a.m. According to the 2026 race listing, runners get soup, bagels and refreshments, and face painting is on offer.
- Small Business Saturday, starting at 9:30 a.m., according to the Downtown Westfield calendar.
- Christmas Tree Lighting, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with holiday music, according to the town calendar.
That Saturday's foot traffic lands on the same blocks that supplied the holiday table. Bovella's and Farinolio are on E. Broad Street, and Kirshenbaum is on Elm. TAPinto Westfield's October roundup of downtown business news adds newer food stops: Kome Omakase at 407 South Ave. West and Le Bistrot at 103 Quimby St., with Vina and The Scoop N Scootery listed as coming to Quimby Street.
When a fixture like the Elm Street supermarket closes, how people get around town changes, and day-to-day details like these are part of the local knowledge The McGurl Team brings to every conversation about Westfield. If you'd like to talk through how downtown's changes may affect your plans for the year ahead, Request a Private Consultation.
