Taking A Stroll Near Jersey City's Grove Street Station
It hasn't lost its charm. But some of the stores and restaurants have fallen victim to the pandemic.
The Grove Street PATH train station is the gateway to one of the most desirable areas of Jersey City. In the downtown area, it’s known for its large residential buildings, interesting independent stores and restaurants surrounded by longer-standing neighborhoods.
Just steps from the PATH station one finds Newark Avenue Pedestrian Mall. There’s plenty of indoor and outdoor dining, loads of space to stroll and great people watching opportunities.
If you get tired of walking you can always take a load off by taking a seat on one of these rocking chairs. They are in front of the popular South House restaurant which offers southern cuisine. I chose to eat there and ordered the fried chicken dinner. The food was hot and delicious but they were a bit slow on getting the food prepared. It could be because they were short-handed because many restaurants are suffering staff shortages these days.
Speaking of which, my first choice was the Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant, but they were closing early. I went to another restaurant that’s no longer seating customers these days. Carry out or delivery just to the neighborhood only, according to the sign. And there were quite a few vacant retail spaces, several of which were once restaurant locations. I suspect they weren’t able to survive the pandemic.
If you walk a bit off the beaten path you’ll find a more gritty Jersey City. Several of the buildings sport murals. This one particularly caught my eye. I find that there are often interesting things to photograph in less obvious locations. Wandering can offer unexpected photographic opportunities.
All photos copyright Gary Baumgarten
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