When Kings Closes, Where Does Whitehouse Station Shop?

The Kings Food Market at 531 Route 22 East in Whitehouse Station will close no later than January 2, 2027. Albertsons, which owns Kings, confirmed the date to TAPinto on October 6. The store opened in April 1997 and had a grand reopening in 2015 after a three-month renovation. That makes it almost three decades of Route 22 grocery runs.

Losing Kings changes two different kinds of shopping, and they go in different directions. The big weekly cart, with paper towels, cereal and a week of produce, now goes over the township line to Branchburg, Bridgewater, Flemington or Somerville. The meat, prepared food, pies and holiday centerpiece that Kings sold as its specialty can stay in Readington. Most of it is already for sale on one short stretch of Route 202.

What the closing actually looks like

Here is what has been announced. The Hunterdon Review puts the store in the Kings Shopping Plaza. The Hillsdale Kings is closing on the same timeline. Dana Ward, Albertsons' director of communications and public affairs, explained the decision to TAPinto:

"With the lease for these locations coming to an end, we made the decision to focus our resources on other locations."

January 2 is the latest possible date. The company has not announced a final day of business, so the doors could close sooner. Kings has not said whether this store will take holiday catering orders this season. If your Thanksgiving or Christmas plans depend on a Kings order, call the store directly before you count on it.

Ward also told TAPinto that the company plans to place as many of the store's associates as possible in other Kings locations. If a familiar face from the deli or the register turns up at another Kings, that is the plan working.

The weekly cart crosses the township line

Kings is the full-service supermarket with a Whitehouse Station address. The other chain supermarkets nearby all sit in neighboring towns, along the same highways Readington drivers already use for work and errands. Which one fits depends on which direction your week already takes you.

For anyone who used to stop at Kings on the way home from the east, the ShopRite of Branchburg on Route 22 is the closest match in direction. The Wegmans in Bridgewater lists hours of 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, so a late shop after a long commute still works. Heading west, Flemington gives you two choices close together: the ShopRite at the Route 202 and 31 junction and the Stop & Shop on Route 31. Hours on chain store pages change without notice, so check the store's own page before an early or late trip.

None of these stores is in Readington. The basic supermarket trip becomes a drive to another town, and Readington households will plan around that once Kings goes dark. Kings also did a second job, though: the butcher counter, the prepared food case and the bakery. That part has a closer replacement.

Route 202 already sells the specialty half of the store

Between Three Bridges and the Branchburg line, Route 202 runs past several farm stores. Together they cover much of what Kings sold at a premium: fresh meat and poultry, hot dishes, scratch-baked goods and local dairy. Two of them face each other across the highway at 803 and 806.

Vacchiano Farm, 803 Route 202

The farmhouse store at Vacchiano Farm is the closest thing in Readington to a Kings deli and meat counter combined. The farm says it raises beef, lamb, chickens, ducks, and both traditional and heritage-breed turkeys, and grows vegetables and berries. The store sells those meats along with prepared foods, deli sandwiches, salads, hot dishes, sauces, scratch-made pies, breads, cheese and sausages, plus imported and homemade specialty products. A weeknight dinner from the hot case and a pound of sausage for the weekend come from the same counter.

Doyle's Farm, 806 US-202

Across the road, Doyle's Farm runs a farm stand and country store. Explore Hunterdon lists it under a Neshanic Station mailing address, inside Readington Township. The store sells farm-fresh eggs, meat, seasonal produce, baked goods and goods from local artisans. Its site advertises fall apples, cider, donuts, pies, pumpkins, straw and cornstalks. The country store first opened in April 2023 and opened for the 2026 season on April 1. Farm stand hours change with the season, so check Doyle's site before you plan around it later in the fall.

Readington River Buffalo Farm

This one is off the highway and works on a weekend schedule. The River Friendly Farm listing describes the store as a red building on the farm. It sells bison, beef, pork, fresh eggs and Griggstown chicken, along with Maddalena's cheesecakes and pot pies and cheese and dairy from Bobolink and Fulper Farms. The usual hours are Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays noon to 4 p.m. The listing warns that Sunday hours may be dropped when the cold weather arrives, which makes Saturday the safer bet from November on.

Farview Farm, 117 Stanton Road

Farview Farm on County 629 works differently. It sells pasture-raised meats, and its beef is custom-cut in quarter, half or whole-animal amounts. The farm's beef page, which lists 2026 pricing, says it takes deposits in June for November pickup. That means Farview is a June decision for a household with chest-freezer space, not a fill-in for this fall. It still answers the question of where Readington can buy beef in bulk directly from the farm.

Taken together, these four stores sell steaks, chicken, sausage, eggs, cheese, bread, pies and a hot dinner without a trip to Branchburg. What they don't sell is the pantry aisle, which is why the weekly chain run and the local farm-store run will now be two separate trips.

Thanksgiving is the first test

Thanksgiving falls on November 26, about five weeks before Kings' latest closing date. It is the first big holiday meal Readington will plan while Kings' last day is still unannounced.

The local option is already open. Vacchiano's online catering page is taking reservations for fresh, uncooked, never-frozen Thanksgiving turkeys in several size ranges at $3.79 a pound, paid at pickup. The page does not list an order deadline. A farm raises a set number of birds each year, so reserving early is the safer move. Confirm the pickup window with the store when you order.

Here is one way a Readington Thanksgiving could come together without a Kings order:

1. Reserve the turkey at Vacchiano Farm this week, choosing the size range that fits your table.
2. Pick up cider, pies and donuts at Doyle's Farm across Route 202 on the same trip.
3. Make a Saturday stop at Readington River Buffalo Farm for eggs, Bobolink or Fulper Farms cheese, and a Maddalena's cheesecake.
4. Save the canned goods, butter, flour and foil for one run to whichever chain store on the list above is along your usual route.

Steps one through three stay inside the township. Only step four leaves it.

The plaza's next chapter is unwritten

The Hunterdon Review reported that Albertsons had no information on what will go into the Kings space after the store leaves. No replacement tenant has been announced. A store that has anchored a Route 22 plaza since 1997 will leave a large space empty. Whatever moves in, whether another grocer or something else, will decide whether Whitehouse Station gets its full-service supermarket back or the weekly drive to another town becomes permanent.

Kings closing changes a routine that has been part of Whitehouse Station since 1997, and our team at Debbie McLain will keep following what comes next for the Kings Shopping Plaza. If you hear news about the space, or want to talk about what it could mean for your corner of Readington, let's connect.