The Market Report

Cosmo's Fresh Market Owner: Wilson Narvaez Opened:  2022 Cooperative:  Associated Supermarket Group Location:  1926 Union Valley Rd, Hewitt, West Milford, NJ Photographed:  November 23, 2022 Welcome to Cosmo's Fresh Market! For today's first Special Report, we're checking out the new store that moved in where Highland's Market was previously in West Milford. Highland's Market was owned by an operator whose stores regularly failed quickly (South Amboy, Elizabeth, Middlesex, and this one), and who is now working on opening what might be a Shop Well or possibly a Shop Fresh depending on who you ask in Hackettstown. But Highland's Market in the Hewitt section of remote West Milford, New Jersey, was sold and after some small changes is now Cosmo's. The Narvaez family owns Cosmo's, and they are the family behind the La Placita supermarkets. Clearly, they're much more experienced in the business than the Nassers and have had more success. The executi...

Original Tenant: A&P Address: 1938 Union Valley Rd, Hewitt, West Milford, NJ Opened:  late 1990s Closed:  2015 Later Tenants:  Highland's Market by Shopwell (October 2020-April 2022) Photographed:  July 2022 After 19 months, the Highland's Market of Hewitt, NJ closed in April. The store, which replaced a closed A&P, opened in October 2020. The store, which was affiliated with the Associated Supermarket Group, was perfectly adequate but had some execution issues. You can see my original tour here . I wondered in that post whether it would have a longer life than owner Nick Nasser's previous attempts in Elizabeth (two years) and Middlesex (five months). Well, it was right in the middle of those two. Nasser has since announced another Shopwell (also sometimes called Shop Well or some other variation thereof) for Budd Lake, about 32 miles southwest of this location as the crow flies. Obviously I can't predict the future, but I can't imagine that store having ...