Out with the Old ShopRite

Cleanup in aisle everything.

The demolition of the Dover Mall's longest-vacant property began mid-March, with the long-shuttered ShopRite and Spirits Liquors store in the back of the mall.

By this week, the supermarket was a pile of rubble, awaiting construction equipment to cart it off and level the ground for a new ShopRite in its place.

At a recent township council meeting, Toms River Councilman and Planning Board member George Wittman announced that the ShopRite was planning a late October grand opening.

A free-standing location, the new ShopRite would again be separate from the portion of the plaza facing Route 37, instead being accessible from Route 166, according to plans on file at township offices.

The Spirits Liquors that used to be attached to the ShopRite would become its own free-standing location, to be built where a small furniture store (formerly a shoe store) stood along the Route 37 portion of the plaza.

The area is gated behind a chain link fence but vehicles can still drive through the back half of the property.

Toms River Patch visited the site during the March demolition of ShopRite and caught a glimpse of the process, inside and out. Check out the attached photos of the demolition.