Message from Mayor Josh Losardo | November 29, 2021
I hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving, as Scotch Plains is now in the full swing of the holidays!
There’s plenty to report from November.
At our Council Business meeting on Nov. 8, we unanimously passed our town’s first comprehensive downtown redevelopment plan in four decades, capping several years of public input and study. With a responsible mixture of new apartments and retail space, the plan uses the almost 10 acres of public property in our downtown’s center that currently underserves the needs of residents, and makes Scotch Plains an ever more attractive town place for business to invest.
Just days later, at our Downtown Redevelopment Committee meeting, Redevelopment Director Tom Strowe announced that the Lidl supermarket chain has purchased the Snuffy’s property and plans to build a grocery store.
An institution in our downtown for almost 90 years, Snuffy’s hosted thousands of events and served such illustrious customers as Jack Dempsey and Al Capone. Many people are sorry to see it go. But since Snuffy’s has officially closed, I couldn’t be more excited that it’s being replaced by a Lidl, which earlier this year was ranked the country’s 3rd best grocer by USA Today, even beating out Trader Joe’s and Wegmans.
As an unofficial gateway to our downtown, this property is the first impression of Scotch Plains that drivers experience from Routes 22 and 78.Along with the Lidl, there will be space for new retail stores as well as a park-and-ride for bus commuters. This new mass transit option will help ease the parking situation along Mountain Avenue, and eventually foster the creation of a walkable shopping corridor extending from Lidl to East 2nd Street.
In other news, the Recreation Commission approved the restoration of the original name, “Shady Rest Country Club,” to replace the Scotch Hills name that came about in approximately 1964. I could not be more proud of this name change and look forward to celebrating at Shady Rest’s 100th Anniversary party on Friday, December 3. Tickets, however, are sold out at this point.
Finally I want to personally express how thankful I am to have the opportunity to serve the wonderful residents of this town. There has been tremendous accomplishment in 2021 that could not have happened without your support.
I wish you and your families a safe and happy holiday season and urge you to shop downtown at every opportunity!
