A grand reopening ceremony was held at the Thomas Edison Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike recently. The 25,420-square-foot building at milepost 92.9 southbound of the New Jersey Turnpike offers exciting new food, beverage and retail choices, along with new fuel facilities and an A-Plus convenience store.
Food, Drink and Retail Choices:
- Auntie Anne’s – known for its hand-baked pretzels
- Burger King – one of the largest fast food hamburger chains in the world
- Chick-fil-A – known for its original chicken sandwich
- Pret A Manger – UK-based company known for its menu of freshly prepared food and organic coffee
- Starbucks Coffee – the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world
- Z Market – retail shop with snacks, beverages, as well as convenience items and local souvenirs
Traveler Amenities, Seating & Design Features:
- Design Theme: “Edison as Innovator” speaks to past and present modern themed elements around the Edison Bulb and inventions
- Electronic charging outlets available throughout interior seating areas
- Interior Seating: 223 seats with various high and low top table seating options throughout
- Exterior Seating: 53 seats + ADA seating, along with 14 tables for outdoor seating
Passenger, Bus, and Truck Parking:
- Redesigned parking lots for safer traffic flow, with separated bus drop-off/pick-up area
- Passenger vehicle parking: 227 vehicles
- Bus parking: 3 busses
- Tractor trailer parking: 40 tractor trailers
Sustainable and Construction Features:
- LED lighting throughout building and auto lighting controls
- New dark-sky compliant LED lighting throughout the parking and exterior pedestrian areas
- Energy efficient Low E Insulated Glazing to minimize the amount of infrared and ultraviolet light that comes through glass, without minimizing the amount of light
- Mechanical Roof Top Units to meet or exceed Energy Code requirements
- Use of recycled paving techniques to reduce aggregate material imports
- Restroom facilities to minimize energy and water consumption including: touch free lavatory faucets, dispensers and hand dryers; waterless urinals; and flush sensors.
Additional Highlights:
- Seasonal food truck area to host rotation of local food favorites (based on season & availability)
- Permanently protected wetland/wildlife conservation areas
- New security camera system throughout all parking and pedestrian areas
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority announced in 2017 that it had reached an agreement with service area contractors HMS Host and Sunoco under which 16 service areas on the Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway are to be replaced or refurbished without the use of any toll or tax dollars. HMS Host and Sunoco agreed to make capital investments of approximately $250 million in exchange for new contracts to continue operating the food and fuel concessions on the Turnpike and Parkway for the next 25 years.
The first new service area facility built under this agreement was the Monmouth Service Area on the Parkway. It opened to the public in May 2019. Edison was the second. The Alexander Hamilton Service Area is scheduled to open in August 2019. The Vince Lombardi Service Area on the Turnpike and the Forked River Service Area are next on the schedule to be replaced. Construction will begin in the fall of 2019.
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