Mexican eatery expands to Belleville, bringing shopping center to full occupancy – Real Estate NJ

By Joshua Burd

A newly renovated shopping center in Belleville is now fully leased after a recent commitment by a fast-casual Mexican restaurant, brokers with RIPCO Real Estate announced.

The operator, Taqueria Los Gueros, is expanding to Belleville Plaza at 354-374 Main St. as part of a portfolio that includes 17 eateries in the region, according to a news release. It joins the tenant roster in Belleville under a lease with Oster Belleville Properties LLC, which moved in 2020 to replace the property’s façade, parking lot, signage, lighting and landscaping.

RIPCO’s Colby Piper and Curtis Nassau consulted ownership on the renovations and subsequent efforts to attract eight tenants, including its new anchor, Lidl, along with Sakura Teriyaki and Wing Stop. The team also secured an expansion by Planet Fitness.

“It was a pleasure partnering with ownership to reposition and re-tenant their center,” Nassau said.

David Townes of JLL represented Taqueria Los Gueros.

“Anchored by Lidl with Planet Fitness and Dunkin’ Donuts, Belleville Plaza is a great neighborhood shopping center that caters to the daily needs of area residents,” Piper said. The firm noted that Belleville Plaza, which borders Nutley, Bloomfield, East Orange and Newark, has been a staple in the community since it was built in 1964, benefiting from two traffic lights, frontage on Main Street and signage on the rear of the center that’s visible to 57,000 vehicles daily on Route 21.

It also sits directly at an exit off the highway.

“The demographics surrounding Belleville Plaza are very strong,” Piper said. “The population is very dense with 268,000 people living and 80,000 people working within three miles of the center. And income levels are high with average household incomes just over $106,000 per year.”