Another stop and shop shuts down as north ocean county's retail needs shift

Stop & Shop closes Toms River Route 9 store after years as local staple

Toms River, NJ – The Stop & Shop at Tri-City Plaza on Route 9 has closed its doors, marking the end of a long-running presence in the Toms River community as shelves are cleared and the storefront is dismantled. The location at 2360 Lakewood Road officially ceased operations Thursday at 6 p.m.

On Thusday night, the trademark Stop & Shop logo had been removed, the shelves were cleared and workers were continuing to dismantle ailes of shelving and retail checkout spaces.

The shutdown follows the company’s decision not to renew its lease after the store failed to meet financial expectations due to a shift in shopping behavior and demographics in the region.

Closure tied to performance, Company officials said

Company officials indicated the closure is tied specifically to underperformance at the Toms River site and is part of a broader wave of local shutdowns of locations in Jackson and Toms River that did not meet the financial expectations of the corporation. Employees affected by the closure have been offered opportunities to transfer to other Stop & Shop locations.

Key Points

Stop & Shop at 2360 Lakewood Road in Toms River closed Thursday at 6 p.m.
Closure attributed to underperformance and lease non-renewal
Employees offered transfers; no additional nearby closures planned

The store had served as a primary grocery option for area residents for years, with community members noting its longstanding role in the Tri-City Plaza shopping center.

Pattern of closures follows earlier Jackson location shutdown

The Toms River closure comes after another Stop & Shop location in nearby Jackson shut down in October 2024. That 67,000-square-foot store at Bennetts Mills Plaza was later redeveloped and reopened as a Gourmet Glatt kosher supermarket in early 2026.

The new tenant introduced a renovated layout, expanded kosher offerings, a bakery, and a pizza counter, reflecting changing retail demand in the region. The transition marked a shift in how large grocery spaces are being repurposed across Ocean County following national chain consolidations.

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