"One of the reasons I moved here 20 years ago was because Chatham was an eminently walkable town," a resident told the Chatham Borough Council on Sept. 28. "Unfortunately, since the Kings supermarket is no longer there, that is no longer true."
She was one of several people at that meeting who asked about a rumor that the empty supermarket at 393 Main St. could become a Walmart delivery or distribution operation. Borough Hall's answer comes down to one fact. Any new use has to meet the borough's zoning, and depending on what's proposed it could need Planning Board approval. As of Sept. 28, nothing had been filed with the Planning Board for the site.
What Was Actually Said on Sept. 28
The questions were specific, and so were the answers. One resident said "the bongo bongo drums have been spreading a rumor that could well be true," describing a possible truck terminal "right in the middle of town, specifically for Walmart." A Chatham Township resident asked what the community would get from a delivery facility. She pointed out that "at least there used to be a supermarket there for the community," and raised concerns about trucks on Main Street where children walk.
Mayor Carolyn Dempsey said she had nothing to confirm. "You haven't heard anything about that because there hasn't been any sort of application to the Planning Board for anything at the Kings site," she said. "I don't have any information at all that I can share on that."
She also said the borough has talked with the property's owners about wanting another grocery store there. According to the mayor, the owner "has and did reach out to many different grocers and was interested in putting a grocer there."
The Chatham Courier's account of the meeting reports the rumor as something residents passed along. It doesn't name a source for the rumor or describe any Walmart proposal.
Why the Borough Can't Simply Pick a Tenant
The building is privately owned, so borough officials don't decide who leases it. Any new use still has to meet Chatham's zoning rules and may need Planning Board approval, depending on what's proposed.
Council Member Jocelyn Mathiasen, who also sits on the Planning Board, described how that works. "As far as I know, there has not been an application made to the Planning Board, but it would be the Planning Board that would review the proposal against current zoning and make a decision on that," she said.
If a proposal does need Planning Board approval, the filing would be the first official word on what's coming. The mayor can share what the owner tells her, and a Planning Board member can explain the steps. Neither one can produce an application the owner hasn't submitted.
The same split between owning a building and leasing it showed up elsewhere on Main Street a week earlier. TAPinto reported on Sept. 22 that the Solu family, owners since 1973, had put up for sale their building between Arminio's and Scoops. The ground-floor tenants listed were Arminio's, Garden Rice, Luxe on Main Salon and Scoops, with apartments and offices upstairs, and no tenant closures were reported. A building can change hands while its storefronts stay the same. What happens at 393 Main St. likewise depends on what a private owner signs and what the borough's zoning allows.
How the Building Got Here
The timeline explains why the site feels like it has been empty a long time, and why one part of the wait was fixed in advance.
- June 2024. At a council meeting, Mayor Dempsey said Kings would close by Sept. 1. She had spoken with Michael Nachtome, president of Murray Construction, which TAPinto reported owned the property and building. The company was looking for a national or regional grocer and asked anyone with leads to call the number on the sign out front.
- Sept. 1, 2024. Kings closed its Main Street store for good. Parent company Albertsons cited "real estate considerations."
- Through Dec. 31, 2024. TAPinto reported that the Kings lease still ran through year-end, so no new business could open in the space before Jan. 1, 2025.
- Jan. 2025 to now. The space has been available for about 21 months. In that time, no proposal has reached the Planning Board, based on what officials said on Sept. 28.
- Sept. 28, 2026. The Walmart rumor reached the council floor. Officials said no application had been filed and repeated the owner's interest in a grocer.
The size of the site matters too. In 2024, TAPinto reported a 23,000-square-foot building on 2.1 acres. That's a lot of floor space and land for downtown Chatham, which helps explain why the owner was looking for a regional or national grocer rather than a small shop.
Grocery Shopping Downtown, Spread Across Smaller Stops
While the building sits empty, food shopping that once happened under one roof now happens in a few places, each with its own schedule. Here is what local reporting and the businesses themselves confirm for this fall.
| Where | Location | When | What the source says it offers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham Borough Farmers' Market | Railroad Plaza South at Fairmount Avenue | Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., final market Nov. 14 | Bread from Pan Delicioso, mushrooms from Zell's Farm, sweets from Enchanted Crust Cottage Bakery, plus Sugar & Whisk, Hot Graham Sauce, Soniashnyk and Pizza Vita |
| Dino's Meat Market | Main Street at North Passaic Avenue | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Sunday, extended hours Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter weeks | Italian butcher, cuts to order, house-made sausage, pantry staples |
| Kings, other locations | Short Hills, Florham Park, Morristown, Summit | Varies by store | Named by the Chatham Courier as the nearest remaining Kings stores after the closure |
The market opened its 2026 season on May 16. Zell's Farm, a mushroom grower from Hillsborough, and Sugar & Whisk, which sells lemonade and dessert lattes, joined as new vendors this year. The names above come from opening-season coverage, so they aren't a complete list of every Saturday's vendors. The schedule is the firmer fact. Counting from today, six Saturdays remain, ending with the borough's final market on Nov. 14.
Dino's Meat Market is the newest food business on the list. Its site says "Est. 2026," and its owner, Michael Luzzi, opens his story with the supermarket itself. The shop's own headline reads, "It started as a complaint about the supermarket." Luzzi learned to butcher and opened the shop he had been looking for. Whole primals are broken down by hand on site, ground beef is made from trim the same day, and the Italian sausage is mixed and stuffed in the back. For holidays and larger gatherings, the shop takes orders ahead of time to cut, tie, stuff or grind, and says holiday weeks fill up early. With Thanksgiving under two months away, that timing fits the season.
The Kings stores in Short Hills, Florham Park, Morristown and Summit were the obvious fallback when the Chatham Courier covered the closure. Each of those trips means getting in the car, and that change is what the resident described to the council.
Main Street has kept adding food businesses in other categories. Ori's Cheesesteaks opened Aug. 15 at 231 Main St., run by the Chaudhry brothers and serving cheesesteaks, loaded fries and shakes. Downtown is gaining storefronts. What it hasn't gained back is a single place to do a full week's grocery run on foot.
What Would Change the Picture
At the September meeting, the residents who spoke cared most about two things: what goes into the building and what traffic it brings to Main Street. Any new use has to comply with current zoning, and if the proposal requires Planning Board approval, the board is where it would be reviewed against that zoning.
Until an application is filed, the confirmed facts are the ones the mayor and Council Member Mathiasen gave on Sept. 28. No application exists, the owner has contacted grocers, and the building at 393 Main St. is still empty.
At Meghan Mullin, we follow changes on Chatham's Main Street because they affect your daily routine and what your street feels like. If you'd like to talk through how a vacant anchor site like the former Kings fits into your own plans in Chatham, schedule your free consultation and we'll go over what we know with you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
