Eden Gourmet will be changing ownership and name, and a 7-Eleven will be opening on Valley Street within the next few months.
Eden Gourmet's Eden Marketplace is located on South Orange Ave. by the train station.
South Orange President Alex Torpey confirmed that the new owners will be Ashley Supermarket, which has another location in Hoboken.
"Gourmet supermarkets are super appreciated in South Orange, and we're happy to have them," Torpey said. "We're excited; it (Ashley's) has a great reputation."
Many students at Seton Hall are frequent customers at Eden Gourmet, although others have never been.
Sophomore environmental studies major Joy Nuzzi said she often chooses Eden.
"I just hope that Ashley's can live up to the standards and quality of Eden's," Nuzzi said.
Sophomore nursing major Priscilla Guzman said that she doesn't like the change.
"Because we've been accustomed to it (Eden) for so long, changing it is pointless," Guzman said. "I hope things will remain the same."
Others who are less affected by the change, such as graduate student Christopher Darby and sophomore nursing major Alicia Lyzenga, are more complacent.
"It doesn't concern me," Darby said. "It's too expensive for many students' budgets."
"I've never been," Lyznega said. "So the change won't really affect me; it's still going to be the same type of gourmet supermarket anyways."
There is another change coming to the downtown landscape as well. A 7-Eleven is going up, according to the executive director of the South Orange Village Center Alliance, Lisa Hackett.
The convenience store will take the place of the Town Hall Deli, which is changing its location from its home on Valley Street.
Hackett said that the 7-Eleven will open in March and will celebrate its grand opening with a three-hour event that is hoping to bring out roughly 200 people.
The logistics coordinator for Rally Marketing Groups, Caitlin Killorin, who was hired by 7-Eleven for the event said, that the event will be DJ-ed and there will be a give-away of T-shirts, gift cards, and more.
"We're quite excited to have this promotion," Killorin said.
Some students have reservations about the new 7-Eleven.
"I'm uncomfortable knowing there's one less health option available to students," Nuzzi said. "We have enough fast food and snack places."
However, some students are looking forward to the new store.
"I think the 7-Eleven will be convenient for those of us who need to grab something quick but don't feel like waiting in the lines at Pathmark," senior nursing major Kristen Napolitano said.
Darby agrees with Napolitano.
"This (the 7-Eleven) is much more impressive," said Darby. "It's a much more profitable venture, and is much more appealing to college kids."
"I think the 7-Eleven will be great," junior biology major Chris DeNardo said. "We don't have any 7-Elevens or Wawas close by."
Victoria Plate can be reached at victoria.plate@student.shu
