The ShopRite of Carteret hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Aug. 2 to debut an EVgo electric vehicle fast charging station at its 801 Roosevelt Ave. location in Carteret, New Jersey.
The EVgo charging station can serve four vehicles simultaneously. The station was supported with funding through the PSE&G Electric Vehicle Charging Program, which is designed to support the deployment of EV chargers.
This latest launch is part of a push by Wakefern Food Corp., the retailer-owned supermarket cooperative, to bring more EV charging stations to communities served by ShopRite stores.
EVgo is one of the nation’s largest public fast charging networks for EVs, and the new EVgo charging station is available to customers shopping in-store, people in the community and motorists from the nearby New Jersey Turnpike.
“We are excited to work with EVgo to unveil this new charging station for our ShopRite customers and electric vehicle drivers,” said Jonathan D’Orsi, a third-generation grocer whose grandfather, John Sitar, founded the ShopRite of Carteret 70 years ago. “It has been a team effort to bring this important infrastructure to our store and community.”
D’Orsi was joined at the ribbon cutting by his store employees, guests and community leaders including Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman, Councilman Vincent Bellino and former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey.
“The addition of the EVgo charging stations to the store parking lot is part of the Sitar family’s investment and ongoing commitment to help customers and help our community,” said Reiman, who presented D’Orsi and the ShopRite of Carteret with a special proclamation to mark the occasion.
ShopRite has supported sustainability efforts – both in stores and in its communities – for more than four decades. It plans to add more electric vehicle charging stations to its stores, enabling additional drivers to go electric with convenient access to public charging. Wakefern’s real estate department is working with its members and stores to identify locations for possible charging stations.
“Wakefern’s electric vehicle charging initiative is important to the cooperative and our supermarket banners. We are collaborating with providers to bring this critical infrastructure to our stores and communities,” said Andrew Pittel, manager of real estate at Wakefern Food Corp., who is overseeing the EV Charging initiative.
This is the second ShopRite location in the past year that has added an EVgo fast charging station. The cooperative added a station to its ShopRite store at 1409 Broad St. in Bloomfield, New Jersey.
ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative based in Keasbey, New Jersey, and the largest supermarket cooperative in the U.S. With hundreds of supermarkets located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, ShopRite serves millions of customers each week.
