Nov 23, 2015

HMSHost Celebrates Opening of Grover Cleveland Service Plaza With New Jersey Turnpike Authority

New plaza features popular brands and an original marketplace restaurant

WOODBRIDGE, NJ—A brand new Grover Cleveland Service Plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike has opened just in time for Thanksgiving travel. Representatives from global restaurateur HMSHost and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority celebrated with a grand opening today with a ribbon cutting and reception. Located at northbound mile marker 92.9 on the New Jersey Turnpike, Grover Cleveland Service Plaza features Starbucks, Popeye’s, and Refresh & Co., a fresh marketplace concept that offers a meat carvery station, gourmet pizzas, sandwiches, and salads.

“Opening Grover Cleveland Service Plaza is an important milestone for HMSHost, the state, and for all of the travelers who use this vital transportation artery every day,” said HMSHost Vice President of Business Development Amy Dunne. “The New Jersey Turnpike Authority is a great partner and we look forward to serving travelers at this facility for many years.”

Among popular national brands, Refresh & Co. is a new concept by HMSHost that is making its debut at Grover Cleveland Service Plaza. It is a casual marketplace eatery that is grounded in scratch cooking and quality ingredients with daily seasonal soups, hand-crafted pizzas and burgers, and freshly grilled and roasted meats. The restaurant gets its fruits and vegetables from a produce vendor that is part of The New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Jersey Fresh program. Menu features sure to please turnpike drivers include the likes of the BLT pizza; sides like garlic knots; the steakhouse bleu salad made with ribeye, romaine, and baby arugula; and the gobbler sandwich crafted from fresh-carved roasted turkey breast, cranberry mayo and country stuffing. Locally-made Bantam Bagels, maker of mini-stuffed bagel balls, will also be featured on the menu.

Refresh & Co. integrates a marketplace area in front of the fresh prep line with grab-and-go food and a unique retail selection of travel accessories and New Jersey themed apparel. Healthy snack foods such as Bear Naked Granola and Sinfully Thin blue corn popcorn are for sale. Indulgent snacks like Hammond’s Candy are also available. Refresh & Co. also looks to the future of convenience with self-ordering and self-pay kiosks.

Grover Cleveland Service Plaza is a modern 15,262 square foot facility, featuring angular rooflines and ground-to-roof windows. The plaza has been designed to reflect its surroundings and the character of New Jersey’s transit system with elements like exposed steel and wood. Guests will find the interior relaxing with natural lighting that makes use of shading controls provided by dot pattern graphics. Up to 150 guests can take a seat inside while up to 50 can enjoy the outdoor exterior patio seats. Sustainable features intended to reduce resource consumption include waterless and high-efficiency restroom fixtures and high performance heating, cooling, and LED lighting systems.

HMSHost operates 17 plazas in New Jersey, including 12 on the New Jersey Turnpike and five on the Garden State Parkway. HMSHost employs 85 associates at Grover Cleveland Service Plaza, 1,768 on New Jersey motorways, and over 2,000 in the State of New Jersey including Newark Liberty International Airport. The opening of Grover Cleveland Service Area, which had been affected by Hurricane Sandy, completes the openings for the Service Area system on the turnpike.

Grover Cleveland Service Area is named for the Caldwell native who served as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.