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New Jersey’s second-largest mall — Garden State Plaza in Paramus — is ramping up offerings and events in the coming months as school gets out for the summer.
The lineups range from new businesses, including a new sub shop and children’s clothing store, to events with the Paramus Public Library and fitness classes on Sundays.
“The mall is providing an inexpensive opportunity for people to come and spend a day,” said Charles Cristella, vice president of retail at the real estate services firm JLL.
Garden State Plaza is catering to a much more local crowd with these events, Cristella said.
Here’s a rundown of the new businesses opening this summer:
Salt & Butter: Kosher restaurant opening in June. Firehouse Subs: Hot sandwich space opening in the food court in June.Ray-Ban: Eyewear store opening in August. Dreame: Smart-home cleaning appliances like robotic vacuums and high-speed dryers, opening in August.
The mall is also hosting three reading events in coordination with the Paramus Public Library:
Summer Reading Kickoff Party: June 22, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., for ages 3 to second grade, featuring story time, balloon art and face-painting.Slimee! Kids Club Event: July 9, 3 p.m. check-in. Event runs 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for ages 4 through those entering sixth grade. Offering hands-on “gooey, glittery slime,” open only to members of the Paramus library summer reading club and limited to 48 participants. Registration opens June 25.Power Up Arena STEM Adventure: July 23, 3 p.m. check-in. For ages 5 through those entering sixth grade. Event runs 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Featuring STEM-focused play and exploration. Registration opens July 9 for Paramus library summer reading club members. Bound by local Sunday retail closures law
Unlike American Dream in the Meadowlands, Garden State Plaza officials said the mall is complying with the Bergen County blue laws, which bar the operation of certain retail on Sundays.
Nonetheless, the mall is offering Sunday fitness classes at 10 a.m. through Aug. 17 near the Shake Shack restaurant at Entrance 3, including strength training, cardio exercises, and family and group fitness classes.
Other events that are part of the mall’s “Open Sundays” program at the food court include such family events as movies, costume-character meet-and-greets and face-painting. The mall also has a number of “experiential offerings,” such as Planet Playskool, Pinstripes and Slimee, that are also open Sundays.
Over the winter, Garden State Plaza hosted an indoor 5K race on a Sunday, since retail stores were closed that day.
Will this bring in more mall patrons?
Whether these events attract more patrons to the mall remains to be seen. Cristella said the events will attract people only locally.
“Nobody’s driving from Bridgewater to go to Garden State Plaza to listen to someone’s story time,” he said. And the mall is more traditional, he continued, with a focus on retail shopping, versus American Dream’s experiential offerings such as indoor theme parks and water parks.
Garden State Plaza “already sees a significant number of visitors on a monthly basis,” and the advertised events “would need to bring in a large number of individuals to make a material impact on the mall’s already-strong yearly traffic,” said Naishal Shah, an analyst with the real estate analytics firm Green Street.
Local youth subject to mall’s teen chaperone policy
Since April 2023, the mall has enforced a curfew that requires anyone under the age of 17 to be accompanied by an adult on Friday and Saturday nights.
It’s a policy mall officials say is part of a bid to clamp down on unruly behavior by teenage patrons.
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook