TOMS RIVER, NJ – Stop & Shop confirmed plans to close its Route 9 supermarket by late spring 2026, ending years of operation at one of its Ocean County locations.
The company said the store at 2360 Lakewood Road, also known as Route 9, has not met financial expectations and will not have its lease renewed. This comes after the Stop & Shop on County Line Road in Jackson closed its doors last year and will soon re-open as a Kosher grocery store.
“We’ve made the difficult decision not to renew the lease for our Toms River store, as it was not meeting financial expectations,” company spokesperson Daniel Wolk said in a statement.
The supermarket will continue to operate through the spring, and all employees will be offered opportunities to transfer to nearby Stop & Shop stores.
Employees to be reassigned as store winds down operations
Wolk emphasized that the company’s focus will be on supporting its associates during the transition. Nearby stores in Brick and Howell are expected to absorb staff once the Toms River location closes.
The announcement marks another example of the supermarket chain scaling back in areas where profit margins have tightened due to competition and rising costs.
Closure follows compliance issues at county stores
Stop & Shop’s decision comes less than a year after several of its Ocean County stores were fined for mislabeled and improperly handled meat.
The violations, which led to $75,000 in fines, prompted new oversight measures and additional food-handling protocols.
Company cites long-term business evaluation
Stop & Shop officials said the closure was based on a routine financial review and is unrelated to past compliance issues.
The Toms River store will remain open until late spring as the company phases out operations and transitions employees to other locations.
Stop & Shop will close its Toms River store in spring 2026, with workers offered transfers and operations winding down over the coming months.