By Joshua Burd
A specialty food and tobacco shop will open its first New Jersey location, in downtown Jersey City, in one of several newly announced retail deals by Grid Real Estate.
The tenant, Exotic Snax, is taking 900 square feet at 745 Newark Ave. for what will be its fourth location overall. The Bronx-based operator will occupy space that was once home to Hilsa, a neighborhood halal grocer, but has been vacant since the start of the pandemic.
According to Grid, the shop will sell rare, foreign snacks, beverages and tobacco products.
The brokerage firm has also completed a 1,700-square-foot lease at 115-117 Brunswick St., which will be the new flagship store for Into The Void Coffee and Antiques. The business, which will occupy a renovated corner space, will operate in a location that doubles as an espresso lounge and antique shop.
In the city’s Journal Square section, Grid brokered a 1,350-square-foot lease at 190 Academy St., the site of 122 new micro-apartments. Flipsigi, a Filipino-style taco eatery developed by celebrity chef Jordan Andino, will occupy the space.
Grid’s other recent leases include a 900-square-foot deal by Confident Care, a provider of nonskilled home care, at 591 Summit Ave. The operator will take space that became available a short time before the pandemic.
Grid’s Bobby Antonicello, Greg D. Edgell and Dante Trigo represented the landlords in all of the transactions, noting that Exotic Snax, Into The Void and Flipsigi all signed five-year leases with five-year options. Confident Care signed a three-year lease.
“It has been a challenging year for a countless number of businesses within our community, and we at Grid Real Estate LLC are honored to be part of the effort in jumpstarting the Gold Coast economy,” Trigo said. “All tenants have interesting concepts that offer competitive advantages in their fields, allowing them to ultimately thrive in Jersey City.”
