"With the lease for these locations coming to an end, we made the decision to focus our resources on other locations." Dana Ward, director of communications and public affairs for Albertsons, gave that explanation to TAPinto on Oct. 6. She was describing the Kings Food Market in Whitehouse Station, which will close no later than Jan. 2, 2027.
That timing puts Thanksgiving, which falls on Nov. 26 this year, and the December holidays inside the store's final weeks. For anyone in Readington Township who has done a weekly shop at the Kings Shopping Plaza, those weeks are also a chance to try what comes next while the old routine still works. What comes next is mostly on Route 202. Readington's food sellers there and the farmers market at Dvoor Farm already stock a holiday table. They run on farm hours and farm seasons, though, and those take some learning.
What is actually closing on Route 22
The store sits at 531 Route 22 East in the Kings Shopping Plaza, in the Whitehouse Station section of the township. The Hunterdon Review reported that Albertsons, which runs both Kings and Acme, is closing the Whitehouse Station store along with one in Hillsdale. That takes Kings from 16 New Jersey stores to 14.
Kings has been part of the Route 22 errand run for close to three decades. TAPinto reported that the store opened in April 1997 and held a grand reopening in 2015 after a three-month renovation. Ward put the two closing stores at 168 employees combined. She said the company's human resources and labor relations teams will try to place as many of them as possible at other stores.
No one has said what will move into the space. Ward told the Hunterdon Review that the company has no information on the next tenant or the type of business. The same report pointed to Edgewater, where an Acme closed earlier this summer and a ShopRite has since moved into the building. That is one example of a grocery space being filled again. It says nothing about what will happen at the Kings Shopping Plaza.
Route 202 already sells the holiday centerpiece
The best stand-in for the Kings meat counter is a farmhouse store a short drive south. Vacchiano Farm runs its store at 803 US Highway 202 in Readington. It sells fresh meat and poultry, sausages, prepared foods, sandwiches, sauces, breads, cheese, produce and wine. Its website shows a prompt for fresh turkey orders.
Vacchiano also keeps hours close to a supermarket's. Its contact page lists Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That covers a Saturday-morning shop easily, but the store is closed by dinnertime. Kings shoppers used to stopping in after work will need to come earlier. The Route 202 building is a retail store. Vacchiano's own history places the working farm in Warren County.
The turkey order page is the item to look at now. The site has the prompt but no 2026 deadline next to it. With Thanksgiving on Nov. 26, call the store or check its site directly for the cutoff.
A mile or so down the same road, the Explore Hunterdon farm stand directory lists Doyle's Farm at 806 US-202, Neshanic Station, inside Readington Township. The directory gives no product list or hours. Before planning a stop, confirm with the farm what it will have in November and December.
The weekend-only stand that covers the rest of the protein
Readington River Buffalo Farm adds things no supermarket counter carried. Its farmstand listing on the River-Friendly Farm program site includes bison, beef, pork, chicken, eggs, cheese and dairy, plus cheesecake and pot pie.
It is also the clearest case of farm hours. The listing gives Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. It warns that Sunday hours may stop when the weather turns cold. So in December, a Saturday visit is the safer plan, and anyone counting on a Sunday pickup should check first.
The market at Dvoor Farm turns into a holiday calendar
The produce, bread and pantry part of the shop is where a Readington weekend most clearly runs on someone else's schedule. The Hunterdon Community Farmers Market meets at Historic Dvoor Farm, 111 Mine Street in Flemington. Its vendors offer local vegetables, mushrooms, honey, cheese, pickles, chicken and other meats, bread and pastries.
The market's published 2026 dates line up neatly with the season Kings has left:
- Sunday, Nov. 22, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is the Sunday before Thanksgiving and the last regular-season date listed.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, 10 a.m. to noon. The Holiday Winter Market starts.
- Sunday, Dec. 13, 10 a.m. to noon.
- Sunday, Dec. 20, 10 a.m. to noon. This is the last listed market before Christmas.
The winter sessions run two hours. That fits a coffee-and-errand morning, but it can't take the place of a Sunday afternoon spent stocking up.
Where a full supermarket shop goes
Some trips need paper towels, cereal and dish soap along with the bread. For those, the nearest supermarket confirmed by its own store locator is Stop & Shop at 334 State Route 31 in Flemington.
Route 202 shows up again on the Branchburg side of the line. In September 2024, the Branchburg Planning Board voted 7–1 to approve a 19,426-square-foot Aldi at Route 202 and Old York Road, as MyCentralJersey reported at the time. That approval came with no opening date. Treat it as a plan for that intersection, not a store you can shop at this winter.
The new map, side by side
| Stop | Location | What it covers | Published hours or dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings Food Market | 531 Route 22 East, Whitehouse Station | Full supermarket | Closing no later than Jan. 2, 2027 |
| Vacchiano Farm store | 803 US Highway 202, Readington | Meat, poultry, turkey orders, prepared foods, bread, cheese, wine | Mon–Sat 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun 8 a.m.–5 p.m. |
| Readington River Buffalo Farm stand | Readington | Bison, beef, pork, chicken, eggs, dairy, pot pie, cheesecake | Sat 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun noon–4 p.m., Sundays may close in cold weather |
| Doyle's Farm | 806 US-202, Neshanic Station | Farm stand | Not published |
| Hunterdon Community Farmers Market | Historic Dvoor Farm, 111 Mine Street, Flemington | Produce, mushrooms, meat, bread, pastries, honey, cheese | Nov. 22, 9 a.m.–1 p.m.; Dec. 6, 13, 20, 10 a.m.–noon |
| Stop & Shop | 334 State Route 31, Flemington | Full supermarket | See store locator |
Read top to bottom, the table shows the change. Route 22 had one store that kept long hours all week and covered everything. What's left is spread along Route 202 and over to Mine Street, and each stop has its own clock. Vacchiano closes at 6. The buffalo farm stand may drop Sundays once it gets cold. The Dvoor Farm market gets down to two hours on three December Sundays. You can still put a holiday meal together, but you'll have to plan the week around those stops.
Between now and Jan. 2, three things are worth doing while Kings is still open. Order a turkey from Route 202 instead of Route 22. Go to the Nov. 22 market at Dvoor Farm before Thanksgiving week. Make one Saturday stop at the buffalo farm stand before its cold-weather hours start. By January, the new routine will already be familiar.
We'll keep an eye on what moves into 531 Route 22 East. If you're wondering how changes on Route 22 and Route 202 might affect your own home's value, Bonnie & Greg can walk you through it. Get your instant home valuation to start.
