Cavany Foods, a full-service meal preparation company that offers its customers fresh, organic food delivered directly to their front door, has signed a lease for a 1,750 square-foot space at 235 Grand in downtown Jersey City, the luxury rental building’s developers KRE Group and Ironstate Development Company announced today.
The company will utilize the space for its first ever retail location, with a gourmet market offering everything from prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner meals to coffee, desserts and other treats.
The gastronomic company is relocating its existing commercial kitchen from Jersey City’s Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood to 235 Grand, where it will continue to focus on its popular home-delivery service that’s operated through an app.
Grid Real Estate was the broker for the transaction.
“Cavany Foods is a local business with a loyal following and a high-quality product. We’re delighted to partner with them on their first retail location,” said Jonathan Kushner, president of KRE Group.
“When we select a retail tenant for one of our buildings, we consider the impact it will have on our residents and the community at large. In this case, the benefit was clear.”
Cavany Foods was founded in 2017 by Chef Alejandro Ferrer who hails from Venezuela, attended the School for Food and Hotel Management in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and today calls Jersey City home. The modern kitchen concept became a staple at the annual Grove Street Farmers Market, and quickly built up a loyal following of patrons who responded to its variety of gourmet recipes ranging from Continental and American cuisine to delicious vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, as well as its sourcing of fresh, local ingredients. It also launched a popular subscription meal delivery service, bringing hundreds of local residents “the freshness of real organic food to your door.”
With customers asking when he was going to open a brick-and-mortar location and more than 80 percent of its clientele coming from downtown Jersey City, Chef Ferrer decided 235 Grand was the ideal place to support both his current business model and his plans for future growth.
“We decided to open at 235 Grand because it is in an area with a lot of pedestrian traffic, close to the PATH and the downtown commercial district and near our existing customer base,” Chef Ferrer said. “We also like the idea of setting up shop in a brand new building whose residents will essentially be using us like room service. It’s the perfect location for our business to grow.”
Cavany Foods’ current app-based meal delivery service is a popular option for customers who want to eat inspired meals made with local, organic ingredients and prepared by a professional chef. Business for the company is up 50 percent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Ferrer, with more people working from home, ordering multiple meals per day and desiring fresh, healthy food.
“We are proud to be serving the community during these challenging times and are thankful that we are able to contribute to the health and well-being of our customers in our own way,” Chef Ferrer said. “At the same time, we are planning for a brighter future. We believe our gourmet market at 235 Grand will be a popular neighborhood destination, giving us an opportunity to offer an in-store experience while also expanding our app-based, home delivery service.”
The LEED-certified 235 Grand luxury rental building features 549 residences. More than 90 percent of the studios, one- and two-bedroom residences have been leased, with The Marketing Directors overseeing the successful leasing program.
