The ribbon is cut at Wakefern's newest warehouse facility in Elizabeth, NJ, during an April 17 ceremony.Making a return to its roots, Wakefern Food Corp. celebrated the opening of its new Elizabeth, NJ, warehouse with a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 17.

“We are proud to be back in Elizabeth,” Joe Sheridan, Wakefern president and chief operating officer, told a crowd of nearly 200 attendees.

Sheridan and Joseph Colalillo, Wakefern chairman and chief executive officer, joined a roomful of dignitaries — including New Jersey Acting Gov. Kim Guadagno, Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, Sen. Ray Lesniak and Elberon Development Co.’s Chairman and CEO Anne Evans Estabrook — to celebrate the opening of a facility that is expected to create 150 additional permanent jobs over the next decade.

This 524,000-square-foot facility replaces the former Wakefern grocery warehouse at the same site and increases storage capabilities by more than 58 percent to better distribute non-perishable food products to ShopRite, PriceRite and The Fresh Grocer stores across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts , Rhode Island and Virginia. In addition to the expanded square footage, this new building will feature ceilings 36 feet high, increasing the storage space significantly. There are currently 345 associates who work in the facility.

In June 2011, Wakefern transitioned its non-perishable operations to a temporary facility in Carteret, NJ, to allow for the demolition and subsequent re-construction of its original grocery warehouse in Elizabeth, which was built in the late 1950s. This new location was completed in November 2013 and was fully operational by February of this year.

“The city of Elizabeth continuously strives to grow our economy and create opportunities that generate jobs, as well as increase options within our municipality,” said Mayor Bollwage. “Working together with dedicated partners such as Wakefern Food Corp. and Elberon Development Co. LLC, we are providing assistance and delivering the services that residents want and deserve. This wonderful expansion is a great addition to the Elizabeth business community.”

“Wakefern’s strength comes from its core focus of ‘families serving families,’” said Colalillo. “This personal connection to our business makes a partnership with Elberon and the Evans family — more than 50 years in the making — a natural extension of our commitment to our customers, our stores and the communities we serve. We are also thankful to Mayor Bollwage and the city of Elizabeth for continuing to welcome us as a member of their community and we are pleased to mark our return to our Elizabeth roots with the opening of this new facility.”

Since it was founded in 1946, Wakefern has become one of the larger retailer-owned cooperatives in the U.S. Headquartered in Keasbey, NJ, it operates more than 2.5 million square feet of grocery and non-food warehousing.