New Jersey's Oldest Mall Is A Thriving Center Of Shops And Restaurants Near NYC And Newark

When you think of New Jersey, many things may come to mind — "The Sopranos," its scenic (and infamous) beaches, or even its diner culture. These are all commonly associated with the Garden State, but it's also one of the birthplaces of the mall. The state's oldest mall, Westfield Garden State Plaza, is still a shopping mecca today. The mall first welcomed shoppers in 1957, when it launched with the former New Jersey-based retail chain, Bamberger's. Soon after, the mall added Gimbels and JCPenney to its roster.

Today, New Jersey still has a lot of malls, including a grouping of seven within 25 square miles. While many malls across the country have struggled to keep up with online shopping, some — like the Westfield Garden State Plaza — have bucked the trend. The mall receives an estimated 20-to-25-million visits each year, and it offers no shortage of dining and shopping to its visitors. It has even garnered a 4.5 rating on Google, with over 23,500 reviews.

Although it's not quite at the scale of American Dream — New Jersey's largest mall that's located just 20 minutes away — Westfield Garden State Plaza offers shoppers nearly 200 stores to choose from, selling everything from clothing to electronics and skincare products. Located in Paramus, which is known as New Jersey's shopping utopia, you'll find plenty of big-name chain stores like Adidas and Lego, as well as designers like Sam Edelman and Louis Vuitton. There are even unique shops like the Sharp Notes, an independent record store, and The Slimee, a slime-making studio.

When you've worked up an appetite, there are also more than 50 options across the 2.1 million-square-foot mall, ranging from fast-casual dining to upscale cuisine. Top-rated choices include the globally inspired Grand Lux Cafe (created by the owners of The Cheesecake Factory), where you can find an array of pastas, pizzas, burgers, and dishes like Thai fried chicken and cedar planked barbecue salmon. The Capital Grille is another favorite among visitors looking for fine dining. On its dinner menu, you'll find dishes like oysters Rockefeller with champagne brie fondue, caviar and caramelized onion dip, and hand-carved steaks.

Prior to its life as a mall, the property was once used as a drive-in movie theater, and before that, a celery farm. Today, you can even get your art and culture dose here without heading an hour away to New York City. You can find exhibits like a Sistine Chapel reproduction, which runs through July 2026, as well as other entertainment options like an arena, arcade, and movie theater.

Amid a trend of declining mall traffic across the country, the Garden State Plaza has largely continued to thrive, and even trail blaze, according to Forbes. Before other malls caught on to the trend, Garden State Plaza added an in-mall movie theater and fine dining to its repertoire. In fact, the mall recently broke ground on a new onsite residential development, featuring nearly 600 apartments, with first move-ins planned for mid-2028. Westfield Garden State Plaza is located just 30 minutes away by car from Newark Liberty Airport, one of America's busiest airports, or approximately 90 minutes by public transportation. Once you arrive at the mall, you'll find over 10,000 parking spaces, including two parking decks.