Menlo Park Mall

Menlo Park Mall is a two-level super regional shopping mall, located on U.S. Route 1 and Parsonage Road in Edison, New Jersey. The mall has a gross leasable area of 1,332,132 sq ft (123,759.1 m²)^[2] and is owned and managed by Simon Property Group.^[3]

Menlo Park Mall

Entrance to Menlo Park Mall
Location	55 Parsonage Road Edison, New Jersey 08837 USA
Coordinates	40.53833°N 74.37861°W / 40.53833; -74.37861
Opening date	September 1959 (renovated/enclosed in 1966–1967 and expanded in 1990–1991 and renovated in 2015)
Developer	Lomen Construction[1]
Management	Simon Property Group
Owner	Simon Property Group
Architect	RTKL Associates Inc. (Dallas Texas)
No. of stores and services	156
No. of anchor tenants	5 (1 coming soon)
Total retail floor area	1,332,132 sq ft (123,759.1 m2)[2]
No. of floors	2 (3 in Macy's and Nordstrom)
Public transit access	NJ Transit bus: 810
Website	simon.com/mall/menlo-park-mall

History

The Menlo Park Shopping Center opened in September 1959, as an open-air complex. It was developed and constructed by Abraham Sommer and Sigmund Sommer, developers from Iselin, New Jersey.^[4] It was named after the Menlo Park area of Edison, also the site of Thomas Edison's former laboratory location. The structure was fully enclosed between June 1966 and December 1967.^[5] After the remodeling, it was renamed Menlo Park Mall, a prominent retail hub in Edison, New Jersey, is part of Simon Property Group's extensive portfolio of over 200 properties in the United States, highlighting its significance within the regional shopping landscape.^[6]

The original center was anchored by Bamberger's, JCPenney, Woolworth as well as two grocery stores: ShopRite and Safeway.^[7] Montgomery Ward opened in January 1962.^[8] The Montgomery Ward space was taken over by Alexander's in 1972.^[9] Bamberger's was rebranded by Macy's in 1986.^[10] After Alexander's went out of business in 1988,^[11] the mall was able to secure the second Nordstrom in New Jersey, but changes had to be made to prepare for the opening.^[12]

Menlo Park converted to a fully enclosed mall in 1967, the first in Central New Jersey.^[13] Most of the mall was closed from 1990 to 1991, when it underwent a significant renovation and expansion that changed it from a single-story structure into its current two-story form.^[14] In expanding and fitting into the space, the new Menlo Park Mall was built on an angle with the vertex occurring at center court. The renovated Menlo Park Mall was also changed to have galleria style skylights, domed fountain courts, marble flooring, dramatic lighting, sculptures and a large, skylit food court featuring trees and sculptures, designed to look like a formal garden. The new mall was designed by architecture firm RTKL Associates Inc. of Dallas, Texas. Two parking decks were also added, as was a 12-screen Cineplex Odeon movie theater which replaced the smaller Menlo Park Cinema on Route 1. Cineplex was later replaced by an AMC Dine-In Theater. Macy's was the only store to remain open during the primary expansion. Nordstrom officially opened to the public at Menlo Park Mall on September 27, 1991.^[15]

Center court of Menlo Park Mall

On March 9, 1997, Target Greatland opened across the street from the mall.^[16] Rainforest Cafe opened on September 17, 1998. In that same section of the mall Steve & Barry's opened in 2005. They left after a 2009 bankruptcy. Fortunoff Backyard Store took over the old space.^[17]

On January 27, 2003, the Cheesecake Factory opened its doors for the first time.^[18] On June 4 of the same year, Barnes & Noble opened to guests.^[19]

In 2014, Smashburger opened along with an upgrade to the food court.^[20]

In 2015, a renovation project was started which removed such features as the central fountain and trees. The food court's raised platform, sculptures, and trees were also removed, and the food court was renamed Dining Pavilion. Fortunoff Backyard Store also left the mall in 2015 and became a college named Soller College. That also left the mall. ^[21]

On September 22, 2018, a Disney Junior themed kids zone opened near Nordstrom.^[22] On December 15th, 2024, The Jersey Strong gym closed permanently due to the lease not being renewed. The space currently sits vacant. In late 2024, it was confirmed that Round 1 would open in the southwest wing of Menlo Park Mall, taking over the former Rainforest Cafe as well as the former Steve & Barry's/Fortunoff/Sollers College. On February 19, 2025, the Rainforest Cafe closed permanently due to the lease not being renewed.^[23]

Current anchors

• Nordstrom (1991–present); formerly Montgomery Ward and Alexander's
• Macy's (1986–present); formerly Bamberger's
• Barnes & Noble (2003–present); formerly JCPenney, opened with Cheesecake Factory
• AMC Theaters (2010–present); formerly Cineplex Odeon
• Round 1 (opening in 2026)

Former anchors

• Montgomery Ward (1962–1972); became Alexander's, now Nordstrom
• Alexander's (1972–1988); formerly Montgomery Ward, now Nordstrom
• Bamberger's (1959–1986); now Macy's
• JCPenney (1959–1978); now Barnes & Noble and Cheesecake Factory
• Steve & Barry's (2005–2009); Became Fortunoff Backyard Store, then Soller College, now Round 1
• Fortunoff Backyard Store (2010–2015); formerly Steve & Barry's, became Sollers College, now becoming Round 1
• Sollers College (former Steve & Barry's and Fortunoff, now becoming Round 1)
• Cineplex Odeon (1991–2010); became AMC Theaters
• Shoprite
• Safeway