On behalf of the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce, I invite you to visit our vibrant community and share in our growing Chamber of Commerce.

This Directory serves as an introduction to the who, what and where of what drives the economic forces in Woodbridge Township and the surrounding areas. The Woodbridge Chamber is the voice of the business community, established in 1964 as a proactive business organization. We invite you to become a member and share your experience and knowledge as a new partner in the economy of our business communities. Our Chamber offers many opportunities for our members. Some of those benefits are educational, networking and marketing. We invite you to become a member.

We are located in a historic region of our state. Woodbridge and the surrounding towns are a great place to live and work. Please visit us and share the excitement.

Share in our vision … Invest in your success

Karen M. Barnes
President
Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce

Welcome
Since 1964, the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce has served as the voice of the business community in the Woodbridge area. Our Membership Directory serves as a valuable resource for you as you consider merchants, business professionals and the goods & services they provide.

Woodbridge Township is more than just Woodbridge proper. While Main Street is the heart of Woodbridge, the township also embraces the sections of Colonia, Iselin, Fords, Avenel, Hopelawn, Keasby, Menlo Park Terrace, Sewaren and Port Reading; these communities have wonderful businesses and equally wonderful residents and visitors. It is the goal of the WMCC to bring these people together. Doing business is about building relationships. At the Chamber, we are deeply committed to building and growing the types of relationships that really generate commercial activity and social interaction.

In the recent year we have celebrated the 350th Anniversary of Woodbridge Township, we have gathered at the newly-opened Avenel Performing Arts Center for networking events and a new member luncheon. The Chamber and its members are a partner in the sustainable green initiative. Mayor John McCormac likes to say, “Woodbridge … It’s the best town around!” He’s right … it is. Woodbridge has something for everyone. We have fine and casual dining and small and mid-size boutique businesses as well as large shopping malls. We have beautiful residential communities, parks, entertainment and fitness centers throughout our township. Few communities rival our attorneys, realtors, accountants, bankers and financial professionals.

We are known as the “Crossroads Chamber” and with good reason. There is no busier corridor in the state than the one where the Parkway, the Turnpike and Routes 1, 9, 27 & 35 all meet. At the Woodbridge Metro Chamber Of Commerce, our vision is to bring together our “buyers & sellers” through common relationships. We live our mission each day. Share in our vision … invest in your success.

Angie Tsirkas
Northfield Bank
Chairman of the Board

Welcome to Woodbridge Township: The Crossroads of New Jersey
Woodbridge Township – chartered in 1669 as the first incorporated municipality in the Province of East Jersey – celebrated its 350th Sesquarcentennial Anniversary in 2019. Today, Woodbridge Township is composed of 10 towns – Avenel, Colonia, Fords, Hopelawn, Iselin, Keasbey, Menlo Park Terrace, Port Reading, Sewaren and Woodbridge Proper – and has for the past 350 years maintained the feel of small-town America while offering residents quiet, tree-lined neighborhoods, local schools within a short walk and a responsive government focused on the needs of those who choose to live, work, educate their children and recreate in our community.

As Mayor of Woodbridge Township, I am pleased to report that the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce has been steadfast in their partnership with the Township Administration as we share the vision of a vital business-oriented community offering the best services to residents and visitors. Our partnership has advanced development initiatives and has continually sought opportunities whereby corporate headquarters and offices, industry and business, retail and shopping centers, residents and visitors, have come together to contribute to the betterment of our community in support of the unparalleled first-class business environment that is Woodbridge Township.

Over the past several years, we successfully engaged economic development that served as the engine that allowed us to drive a historic $40 million investment in our schools to construct new turf fields (football/soccer, baseball and softball), outdoor athletic tracks and sport facilities, gymnasium improvements, elementary school playgrounds, auditorium seating and the Theater at Woodbridge Middle School; these improvements benefit not just school children but the entire Woodbridge Township community that utilizes the facilities.

As a result of these investments, the township will generate nearly $8 million annually from the development projects – projects that were provided tax incentives by the township to encourage investment in Woodbridge. By offering tax incentives, we ensured that these companies would invest in Woodbridge – bringing several thousand jobs to our citizens with the added benefit of tax-free financing to expand and renovate school district and community infrastructure.

We recently updated the Woodbridge NOW – Buy Local APP where businesses, residents and visitors stay connected with just one touch. The Woodbridge NOW APP is the best source for what’s happening in Woodbridge Township, featuring a business directory, community event calendar, current video highlighting local events, concerts, interviews, sports, business openings and more. Get the latest local news feeds and updates from local news agencies. Find the nearest parking so you can explore everything Woodbridge. Connect to businesses, residents and customers through Facebook and Twitter and share with your friends and access links to web sites – Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce, Woodbridge Township, Woodbridge Community Center and The Club at Woodbridge, the Avenel Performing Arts Center, Woodbridge Arts & Events and so much more. Use the Woodbridge NOW – Buy Local APP as your one-stop source for everything Woodbridge. It’s FREE. Download it now to stay connected.

In concert with the Greater Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Woodbridge Economic Development Corporation, we welcome you to learn more about our great township and the many commercial opportunities that exist throughout our “Ten Towns.” To learn more about the great business and residential opportunities in Woodbridge Township, visit the township website at www.twp.woodbridge.nj.us or call my office at (732) 602‑6015. We look forward to welcoming you to Woodbridge!

Best Regards,

Mayor John E. McCormac
Woodbridge Township

Town Hall: (732) 634‑4500

Mayor’s Office: (732) 602‑6015

Municipal Clerk: (732) 602‑6007

Municipal Court: (732) 636‑6430

TV 35 & 36: (732) 602‑6079

Office of Emergency Management: (732) 602‑7361

Police: (732) 634‑7700

Building Department: (732) 602‑6003

Planning Board: (732) 602‑6005

Main Library: (732) 634‑4450

Purchasing: (732) 602-6001

Housing Department: (732) 602‑6009

Avenel Performing Arts Center: (732) 314‑0500

Barron Arts Center: (732) 634‑0413

Public Works: (732) 738‑1311, ext. 3600

Pothole Hotline: (732) 726‑2325

Recycling: (732) 738‑1311 x3049

Bulk Pickup: (732) 738‑1311  x 3600

Parks and Recreation: (732) 596‑4048

Community Center/ The Arenas: (732) 596‑4170

Cypress Recreation Center: (732) 596‑4116

The Club at Woodbridge: (732) 634‑5000

Multi-Services Program: (732) 726‑6261

Senior Transportation: (732) 726‑2394

Access Link: (800) 955‑2321

Youth & Senior Services: (732) 634‑4500 x6062

Evergreen Center/Youth Center: (732) 726‑6261

Sycamore Senior Center: (732) 726‑7087

Five Branches Senior Center: (732) 726‑6276

Hickory Senior Center: (732) 726-6285

Tooling Around the Town: (732) 609‑6015

Things to Do in Woodbridge NJ

Woodbridge Community Center

A 110,000-square-foot sports and entertainment complex that provides fun and fitness for the whole family. The community center features a sports center with fitness equipment and personal training; an aquatics center for personal swimming, swimming lessons and swim teams; roller and ice skating rinks used for recreational skating, lessons and hockey; the Skyline MiniGolf course; senior programs; and child care. The community center is also a great place for parties and events and offers a variety of programs throughout the year. For information, visit, www.njwcc.com.

The Club at Woodbridge

A health and fitness center that features group exercise studios, racquet sports, an indoor pool, Kidsports Academy, physical therapy/sports rehab, a cafe and conference rooms. For information, visit www.theclub.org.

FOOTBIK

Footbik is a Dutch soccer center for early development. Footbik not only teaches your children how to play soccer, it acts as an early development system for you child, using soccer as the main education and pedagogic tool.

Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park

An art deco Edison memorial tower and small museum dedicated to Edison, built in 1937 and 1947, respectively. For information, visit www.menloparkmuseum.org.

Plays-in-the-Park

Located at Roosevelt Park in Edison, produces three musicals each summer, an indoor children’s musical each fall and a yearly performance of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” each winter. For information, visit www.playsinthepark.com.

Music on Main Street

Presented by Woodbridge Arts, Music on Main Street has been bringing live music and professional touring artists to Woodbridge since 2009. Performances cover a diverse variety of genres from both well-known and emerging artists. For information, visit www.woodbridgeartsnj.org.

Music in the Park

Concerts are held at various local parks throughout the summer. For concert lineups, visit www.co.middlesex.nj.us/parksrecreation/concerts.asp.

Parks

Parks in the area offer playgrounds, nature preserves, sports fields, tracks, picnic areas and more. For a list of area parks and preserves, visit www.co.middlesex.nj.us/parksrecreation/parks.asp.

Golf

Three area courses are available for golfers: Tamarack Golf Course in East Brunswick, The Meadows at Middlesex Golf Course in Plainsboro and Raritan Landing Golf Course in Piscataway.

Woodbridge’s rich heritage began with the arrival of its first settlers in 1664. Traveling from Massachusetts, the pioneers put down roots on land acquired from the Lenni Lenape Indians. It is thought that the settlement chose the name of Woodbridge, honoring Newbury, Massachusetts, Reverend John Woodbridge.

In 1666, the Governor of New Jersey accorded the newly formed village permission to allocate land parcels, appoint a pastor and submit militia officers, followed shortly by the granting of a charter to the township by King Charles of England in 1669 – making Woodbridge the oldest original township in New Jersey.

In the next several decades, the town of Woodbridge grew, with the establishment of the state’s first permanent printing house by James Parker in 1751, resulting in the first published magazine, The New American Magazine, in 1758.

As additional municipalities, including Carteret, Rahway, Edison and Metuchen, were formed in the 1800s, Woodbridge Township lost land, though the community remained one of the largest in the state. However, Woodbridge benefited from its access to the natural resource of fine clay deposits, placing it as one of the world’s largest producers of fire bricks.

Over the next 100 years, the township opened School #1 and its first public library, what is now known as the Barron Arts Center (1877) and a high school (1911). The township also built the first U.S. cloverleaf at the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and State Route 35 (1929) and received esteemed awards recognizing its advanced growth and contemporary governance in the mid 1960s. Among other achievements, the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1964, the extensive indoor shopping mall Woodbridge Center was established in 1971 and in the same year, the modern $2.6 million Woodbridge Metro Park train station was opened. In 1999, the community collectively built a community playground in Merrill Park.

A new town hall was built in 1996 and the Woodbridge Community Center was built in 2002. The Barron Arts Center and the Trinity Episcopal Church have been placed on the State and National Historic Registers. In 2010 and 2011, the New Jersey League of Municipalities named Woodbridge the “New Jersey Sustainability Champion.” In 2017, the Avenel Arts Village opened its doors. This project will bring top plays and entertainment to our community.

Woodbridge has experienced a number of significant benchmarks since its original settlers came to the area in the late 1600s, and continues to progress into a future just as bright as its vibrant past. Woodbridge still has many businesses serving the community for decades. Vito Mazza Salon and Spa celebrated 50 years in 2017. Vaticano and Son Shoe repair has been on Main Street for over 50 years. The downtown is steeped in history.

WHY WOODBRIDGE?
Location, transportation, arts and education make it “The Best Town Around”

Woodbridge Township, the oldest chartered municipality in the State of New Jersey, celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2019.

Known as “The Best Town Around,” Woodbridge has grown over those four centuries into the fifth-largest municipality in New Jersey. It encompasses 10 separate and distinctive communities – Avenel, Colonia, Fords, Hopelawn, Iselin, Keasbey, Menlo Park Terrace, Port Reading, Sewaren and Woodbridge Proper.

The township has earned the New Jersey League of Municipalities prestigious Sustainable Jersey Silver-Level Certification and Champion Award for large-size municipalities for 10 years running and has been named an “All-American City” by the National Civic League.   

With its ideal location in northern Middlesex County – considered the Crossroads of New Jersey – Woodbridge encompasses 26 square miles and is strategically located between New York and Philadelphia. The community’s 100,000-plus residents have easy access by land and rail to employment, shopping, dining and recreational opportunities throughout the region. Convenient public transportation access, skilled workforce and training facilities, a booming economic development commitment, new housing, updated and expanded recreational facilities and more make Woodbridge Township a natural choice for business and industry.

The plethora of transportation options literally brings business and business travelers to Woodbridge’s front door. Woodbridge’s transportation hub includes easy access to the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway; Interstate 287; U.S. Highways 1, 9, 35 and 27; and Route 440, providing a direct link to New York City via Staten Island. Rail commuters find both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit passage via the Metro Park Station in Iselin and from the downtown Woodbridge and Avenel train stations. Nearby Newark Liberty International Airport speeds business air access to nationwide and international destinations.

When it comes to business development and commerce, the Woodbridge Economic Development Corporation, or WEDCO, continues to connect with international corporations and corporate headquarters, commercial enterprises, businesses and retail outlets looking to make Woodbridge Township their corporate or business home. WEDCO provides a detailed map of development and redevelopment opportunities available to the corporate, industrial and business community looking to invest in Woodbridge Township. Through the outreach of the mayor’s office, WEDCO and the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce, Woodbridge has become home to top industries in health care, professional services, retail trade, international distribution and warehousing.

Employers such as AriZona Beverage, Siemens, Amazon Fulfillment Center, FedEx, CPV-Woodbridge Energy Center, Wakefern, Preferred Freezer, Prudential, Verizon, Plymouth Rock Assurance Company, plus many other international corporations and businesses have been drawn to the community’s strategic location, transportation routes and the availability of unsurpassed commerce support.

A Downtown with a Vision
Blessed with a traditional downtown, Woodbridge Proper boasts pedestrian streets lined with retail shops and restaurants. The Woodbridge Redevelopment Agency and the Department of Planning & Development look to the future via the Downtown Woodbridge Vision Plan, which is geared to spur redevelopment projects in the Main Street business district and surrounding commercial center.

The Vision Plan created separate redevelopment zones to encourage private developers to evaluate each of the zones and to present ideas as to how the downtown area can be enhanced. Redevelopment projects are geared to develop the New Jersey Transit/Woodbridge Train Station area as a Transit Village development project. Today, Parker Press Park – the Town Square gathering place for 350 years – boasts a popular farmers market, art exhibitions, cultural events and numerous concerts.

Education & Recreation
The township government has a special relationship with the Woodbridge School District. They have implemented a partnership to construct the new $30 million Ross Street Elementary School #11 and $20 million in renovations and improvements to Woodbridge Middle School. The administration also has supported the investment of more than $26 million in new community recreational facilities on school grounds that included new multi-use turf football, soccer, softball and baseball field; new running tracks; tennis courts; and gymnasium/auditorium improvements at all of the high schools and middle schools.

The theater at Woodbridge Middle School was renovated and the district installed new playgrounds and recreational facilities at every elementary school. Most importantly, the joint ventures between the school district and the township administration successfully allowed for millions of dollars in improvements to school district facilities without any increased cost to taxpaying residents.

The Woodbridge Community Center and The Club at Woodbridge are recognized as the best wellness and fitness centers in Central New Jersey. The Cypress Recreational Center in the Port Reading section of the township is the permanent home for cheerleading and wrestling, adding to the array of recreational opportunities.

A Regional Performing Arts Hub

The Avenel Performing Arts Center, known as APAC, is the region’s newest performing arts center designed for theater, stage productions and special performances. Theater-goers will enjoy performances at the very best entertainment venue in Central Jersey. The APAC, a multi-disciplinary performing arts center, has energized Avenel and surrounding communities by programming exceptional professional theater, music, comedy, dance and more. The APAC features seating for 200 patrons, a separate performance room and a pre-function lobby area that opens to exterior space for larger gatherings and events. APAC also features the stand-alone Curtains Restaurant.

APAC was made possible through the Woodbridge Arts Alliance, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to advocating, activating and animating Woodbridge as a regional destination for the arts. The township has an art-driven economic plan, which includes enhanced arts programming and education representative of the diverse regional population. The arts alliance will expand on existing arts activities to increase Woodbridge’s standing as a regional hub for the arts and to help advance the economic position of artists, creative entrepreneurs and associated entities. Visit the APAC at www.avenelarts.com for box office and performance information.

The Avenel Arts Center, a 13,500-square-foot performing arts facility specially designed for theater, stage productions and special performances, is the centerpiece for regional performing arts. Located in the new Station Village at Avenel, the Avenel Arts Center is destined to be one of the hottest places in Central Jersey.

Welcoming the Business Community
Aiding the township’s already business-friendly environment are organizations dedicated to the well-being of local commerce.

Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary organization and vital resource for business, industry, retail and professionals working to improve Woodbridge’s economic and civic growth. For more than 50 years, the Chamber has been at the heart of business in the metropolitan area. Representing more than 450 member businesses, the Chamber offers numerous opportunities for growth through networking, educational programs, affordable advertising, member-to-member discounts and referrals and legislative influence.

The Small Business Development Center at the College of New Jersey provides counseling to more than 600 businesses, training 2,000 people each year. The organization offers free membership and technical assistance through one-on-one or group consultations, informational seminars and interactive workshops.

Additional state programs offer a full range of opportunities for businesses in Woodbridge though the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Division. Business can access departments specializing in business retention and expansion, business attraction, real estate services and sustainable businesses.

Working to attract new businesses, as well as support the area’s already established businesses, the Woodbridge Economic Development Corporation has designed a number of programs to create successful ventures for area entities and the Mayor’s Office of Planning & Development, the Woodbridge Redevelopment Agency, Woodbridge Planning Board and Woodbridge Zoning Board have implemented long-term economic development strategies and business incentives which serve to attract corporate economic development. As a result, several significant development and construction projects demonstrate that businesses view Woodbridge as a sound investment and are changing the face of Woodbridge Township.

Staying Connected
The all-new WOODBRIDGE NOW APP – a partnership information source with the Chamber – is the best “one-touch” source for what’s happening in Woodbridge Township. The app offers:

• Business directory: Get info on local businesses. Search by business category to quickly find directions and contact information for the businesses you need.
• Events: Stay “in-the-know” about what’s going on in Woodbridge and send save-the-dates right to your calendar.
• Videos: Check out the latest TV-35 videos of local events, concerts, interviews, sports, business openings and other offerings.
• News: Get the latest local news and updates. Access the latest news feeds from local and surrounding news agencies.
• Parking: Find the nearest parking and explore everything Woodbridge.
• Connect: Connect to other residents and customers through Facebook and Twitter
• Links: Access links to web sites like Woodbridge Township, Woodbridge Community Center, Woodbridge School District and Woodbridge arts and events.