Earlier this summer, Centennial Avenue saw two grand openings that offered different retail options in the same town. On one side of the street, a national wing chain just opened its 20th New Jersey location. On the other, a regional grocer reopened about half of a former supermarket as a new Patel Brothers. Both are now open, bringing different retail formats to Centennial Avenue.
A Grocery Store Split Itself in Two
The old ShopRite at Piscataway Towne Center closed when the chain relocated to South Plainfield in 2024, leaving about 63,000 square feet empty on Centennial Avenue. This summer, roughly half of that space reopened on June 30 as a new Patel Brothers, owned locally by Swetal and Rakesh Patel. The other half is still sitting there. No tenant has been announced for it.
That split matters more than it looks. Patel Brothers didn't just need square footage, it needed a specific kind of square footage: produce along one wall, dairy on another, a full bakery and kitchen in the front corner turning out fresh roti and samosas, plus a juice bar and a seating area. That's a supermarket built around a distinct mix of grocery, bakery, prepared-food and seating options. The nearest full Indian grocery before this was Subzi Mandi, on the southern side of town. This part of Piscataway simply didn't have one.
So the empty back half of that building isn't just unfinished construction. It's an open question about what else this stretch of Centennial Avenue thinks it needs now. Whoever leases it next will be making the same kind of bet Patel Brothers just made, reading the neighborhood and deciding what's missing.
Eighty Jobs and a Wing Night, Across the Street
As NJBIZ reported, a few days after Patel Brothers opened, Buffalo Wild Wings cut the ribbon on its own new location directly across the way at Centennial Square, the Walmart and Lowe's anchored power center that runs along Centennial Avenue between Stelton Road and South Washington Avenue. This is the chain's 20th full-service restaurant in New Jersey, and Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler took part in the 10 a.m. ceremony on July 6. The location is expected to bring around 80 new jobs, and the first 100 adults in line that morning walked away with a voucher for six free wings a week for a year.
Centennial Square provides context for the opening: it has more than 400,000 square feet of retail, is anchored by Walmart and Lowe's, and sits on a stretch of Stelton Road that carries roughly 29,000 vehicles a day.
Put the two openings side by side and the contrast gets easier to see.
| Patel Brothers | Buffalo Wild Wings | |
|---|---|---|
| Opened | June 30, 2026 | July 6, 2026 |
| Location | Piscataway Towne Center | Centennial Square |
| Footprint | About 30,000 sq. ft. of the former ShopRite | New build-out inside a 400,000+ sq. ft. power center |
| The read on Piscataway | A full-scale grocery store opens in part of the former ShopRite | A national restaurant chain opens its 20th New Jersey location |
The openings show two different retail formats along the same stretch of Centennial Avenue. A specialty grocery store and a national restaurant chain are both now part of the town's retail mix.
Summer Events Around Piscataway
Piscataway's summer calendar included events beyond the activity on Centennial Avenue. On August 13, the township's Summer Concert series brought a show called Viva Selena to 205 Lakeview Ave, part of a run of free outdoor concerts the town puts on every summer regardless of what's opening or closing at the shopping centers a mile away.
The 3rd Annual Community Summer Bash took place on Sunday, August 16, at the New Market Fire Company at 801 South Washington Avenue from 2 to 8 p.m., hosted by Beastro. The lineup included a gamer truck, a kids' train, bounce houses, luxury soft play, face painting, a live set from DJ Territup, local food and sweet treat vendors, and photo booths. Two attractions were the dunk a firefighter tank, where residents got a low stakes chance to soak the people who actually respond when something goes wrong in this town, and a watermelon eating contest that began at 4 p.m. Admission was free.
The summer events offered residents activities beyond the shopping centers. The concert series and the Bash brought music and family-oriented programming to two different venues.
What This Means If You Live Here
The retail openings and free events are different parts of summer in Piscataway. Buffalo Wild Wings opened at Centennial Square, while Patel Brothers reopened part of the former ShopRite at Piscataway Towne Center. The Community Bash and concert series are also part of the town's summer calendar. Together, they offer a snapshot of retail and community events in Piscataway.
If you've lived here long enough to remember when the old ShopRite was the only grocery option on that side of town, the last two months are worth paying attention to. Patel Brothers has reopened part of the former supermarket, while the other half remains an open question. The openings offer a snapshot of recent retail changes along Centennial Avenue.
If you're thinking about what any of this means for your own move, whether that's buying your first home in Piscataway, selling one you've outgrown, or just trying to understand what your street is worth in a town with changing retail options, Erick Gonzalez has spent eight years working through exactly these kinds of questions with buyers and sellers across Middlesex and Somerset Counties. Let's Connect.
