A vacant Edison supermarket that's sat empty since Stop & Shop pulled out two years ago is getting new life on October 9, when Go-Pal Supermarket throws open its doors at 1125 Inman Ave. with a 9 a.m. ribbon cutting. The 50,000-square-foot store promises a hybrid format rarely seen in Central Jersey: full American grocery departments alongside a dedicated Indian kitchen, all under one roof in a township where more than half the population is Asian.
Owner Nick Patel says the completely renovated space will carry everything shoppers would expect from a ShopRite, according to NJ.com, plus an extensive range of Indian items. The store will feature a floral department, bakery, produce section, meat and seafood counters, dairy, frozen foods, full-service catering and deli, and both an Indian kitchen and American ready-to-eat meals, per the outlet's reporting. Shoppers will also have access to online ordering, phone ordering, and pickup, and Patel is planning a grand opening sale to mark the launch.
Go-Pal will keep the same daily hours long associated with the site, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Patch reported, citing store signage posted ahead of the opening. The store is also currently hiring, with interested applicants directed to email [email protected].
An Anchor Vacancy Two Years in the Making
The storefront has been dark since Stop & Shop shuttered 32 underperforming locations across the Northeast in late 2024, including 10 in New Jersey — two of them in Edison, at Inman Avenue and Route 1 South, according to Patch's earlier coverage. The closures left a hole in the Inman Grove Shopping Center that lingered even as the property changed hands. Local community discussions at the time, per a Reddit thread on r/newjersey, raised concerns about grocery access for residents in nearby low- and moderate-income housing along Grove Avenue who lacked personal transportation.
Despite losing its anchor grocer, Inman Grove Shopping Center still sold for $24 million in 2025, fetching $200 per square foot, a price that outperformed other local grocery-anchored retail centers, according to Jersey Digs. Commercial real estate firm Levin Management Corporation took over property management of the 113,000-square-foot center in June 2025 and had also consulted on its off-market acquisition, the company said in a press release. The shopping center's other tenants include Ivy Rehab, CSL Plasma, Wells Fargo, Verizon, The UPS Store, Kumon, Taco Bell, and Subway, according to Levin's property listing — a mix of daily-use businesses that typically depend on a grocery anchor for steady foot traffic.
Betting on Edison's South Asian Market
Go-Pal's hybrid pitch lands in a township built for it. Asian residents make up 52.8% of Edison's total population, per 2026 U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts estimates, and the township has long served as a national hub for South Asian commerce and culture — 28.3% of residents identified as Indian American in the 2010 Census, according to Eastside. Edison's Oak Tree Road corridor remains a major regional destination for South Asian retail and dining.
That corridor is also where Go-Pal will face its stiffest competition. Edison's South Asian grocery landscape already centers on Oak Tree Road, home to established specialized grocers including Patel Brothers, India Grocers, and Apna Bazar, per Quicklly. Go-Pal appears to be positioning itself differently, pairing a traditional suburban supermarket's breadth with Indian culinary offerings rather than competing purely as a specialty grocer. The regional numbers suggest there's room for both: South Asians make up roughly 40% of the population across Central New Jersey hubs including Edison, Plainsboro, and South Brunswick, and New Jersey has the highest South Asian population share of any state in the country at nearly 5%, according to Indian American Impact.
Expansion Plans Still Taking Shape
This Edison location marks the first Go-Pal Supermarket, and Patel isn't stopping there. He hopes to open two additional stores in New Jersey and expects to share details on those locations within the next six months, NJ.com reported, though specific sites and timelines haven't been disclosed yet. For now, all eyes are on October 9, when Edison shoppers get their first look at whether a ShopRite-meets-Indian-kitchen format can succeed where a national grocery chain couldn't hold on.
