Listen to this articleThe basics:
- Felice will launch a 4,500-sf restaurant at Monmouth Square in Eatontown
- Marks Felice’s 1st New Jersey location and flagship outside NY & Fla.
- Retail space at $500M Monmouth Square redevelopment is over 75% of leased
- Other tenants include Whole Foods, Cava, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream & Offshore Coffee
As Monmouth Square continues to take shape where the Monmouth Mall once stood, a major new tenant from SA Hospitality Group will serve up a dining and wine bar experience in the Central Town Square.
Kushner announced this week Felice will open a 4,500-square-foot eatery at the more than $500 million redevelopment in Eatontown.
The restaurant will introduce Felice to New Jersey and mark its inaugural flagship outside of New York City and Florida. The addition also adds to the crucial mix Kushner is cultivating as it works to bring the inside out at the intersection of Routes 35 and 36 and Wycoff Road.
“We’re very intentional about where we grow, and Eatontown stood out as the perfect neighborhood to bring our restaurant,” said SA Hospitality Group partner Jacopo Giustiniani. “It has the right energy, community, and character and feels like a natural fit.”
Known for its elevated and approachable menus, Felice offers rustic Tuscan cuisine with an extensive Italian-driven wine list. The first Felice opened in 2007 on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and it now spans six locations. In May, the SA Hospitality Group banner also signed a 15-year lease at Trump Plaza at 167 E. 61st St. in New York. Also based in New York, other brands within the group include Casa Lever and Sant Ambroeus.
At Monmouth Square, the addition of Felice is as much an endorsement of what the redevelopment hopes to achieve, as it is an expansion of the growing tenant roster.
Good eats
Take a closer look at the dishes and atmosphere Felice will bring to Monmouth Square here.
“Felice is exactly the type of operator we are proud to welcome to Monmouth Square,” said Kushner President Nicole Kushner Meyer. “This is a brand with deep New York roots, a loyal following, and a reputation for excellence. Their decision to open their first New Jersey outpost here reflects the caliber of this project and the unique opportunity Monmouth Square presents …”
Kushner broke ground at the former Monmouth Mall in May 2024. Since then, tenants signing on at the property have brought the commercial component to 75% leased, as of March. Among them: Cava, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, local brand Offshore Coffee and more.
A 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market will anchor the site, while the old Barnes & Noble remains, open now in an updated space.
“This initiative exemplifies a thoughtful best-use approach for the site,” said Kushner Chief Development Officer Michael Sommer.
Kushner says at this point, substantial demolition is complete, infrastructure work is underway and the retail shells for Whole Foods, Cava and fellow retail tenant Prince Street Pizza are near completion.
Once home to the 1.5 million-square-foot shopping mall, remaining anchors include Macy’s, Boscov’s and AMC. Beyond the grocery store, the emerging campus will ultimately comprise 900,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space as well as medical office space, a public green and residential units.
According to Kushner’s September update, vertical construction has commenced on the 1,000 Livana-branded apartments joining the mix. The company expects leasing to launch at the end of 2026. A 40,000-square-foot resident clubhouse is also underway.
