Montvale Mayor Links Trader Joe's to Chestnut Ridge, Fresh Market Conversion Eyed

Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali stirred renewed attention in early March 2026 when he posted on Facebook naming Trader Joe’s, Shake Shack, CAVA and a restaurant listed as either Honeygrow or “Honeyglow” as prospective tenants for Chestnut Ridge Shopping Center on Chestnut Ridge Road. Ghassali told reporters he believed Trader Joe’s would move into the space now occupied by The Fresh Market; he later temporarily removed the post after the applicant’s attorney advised him to do so.

Ghassali linked the applications to a municipal review process and gave a timeline first cited in mid-late November, saying, “The applications for Trader Joe’s, Shake Shack, CAVA and Honeygrow will be heard on Tuesday December 2nd at the Planning Board meeting.” He also posted on social media, “I am hopeful that we will soon welcome these new businesses to Montvale and support them toward success,” and promised to follow up after the hearing.

The mayor answered a direct question about The Fresh Market’s status with a blunt read of the proposal: “Yeah, I was led to believe that’s the situation; that’s the information I had, and still have: Trader Joe’s is moving to a spot where Fresh Market is, and that means that Fresh Market is leaving.” That statement reflects Ghassali’s understanding of the submitted proposal; neither Trader Joe’s corporate, The Fresh Market corporate, nor the shopping center owner is on record confirming a lease termination or new tenancy in the materials available to date.

Chestnut Ridge Shopping Center sits less than 2 miles south of the New York-New Jersey border, with Chestnut Ridge Road continuing into Rockland County as Route 45 and local access a few blocks off the Garden State Parkway Extension. The site’s cross-border location has heightened interest from Rockland residents and officials: Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann said on Nov. 18 that his town had been in contact with numerous landowners in the Nanuet area and that he has been working for years to attract a Trader Joe’s.

Ghassali’s Facebook post generated hundreds of comments from Montvale residents and neighbors across the border, with many welcoming the prospect and others raising traffic and parking concerns. One local commenter warned, “Access to and from Woodmont Drive would have to be addressed, too residential to take on all that traffic from Chestnut Ridge.”

Procedurally, Ghassali said the mayor’s information was consistent with public information provided by applicant counsel Gail Price of the firm Price, Meese, Shulman and D’Arminio in Woodcliff Lake, who advised removing the post until after the Planning Board review. Key confirmations remain outstanding: Trader Joe’s and The Fresh Market have not publicly confirmed store moves or closures, the applicant entity beyond its attorney has not been named in available reports, and the restaurant name appears variously as Honeygrow and Honeyglow in local accounts. The municipal Planning Board review and any filed application materials will be the next documentary milestones to clarify whether the proposed conversions proceed.