In June, Uncle Momo served its last meals at 702 Bloomfield Avenue after more than a decade in town. That same month, an Italian-born chef opened an Adriatic seafood restaurant on Valley Road in Upper Montclair. If you trace this year's openings and closings on a map, those two events set the pattern. Montclair's new chef-driven dining rooms opened at the edges of town in 2026. Downtown's changes along Bloomfield Avenue and Church Street were mostly counters coming and going. The large sit-down projects planned for downtown are inside a 1913 rail terminal and a former bank with concrete-filled walls, so they are moving slowly.
Here is where things stand as of early November.
Upper Montclair got the year's most personal openings
Clementina opened in early June at 627 Valley Road. It's a modern Italian restaurant with seafood-focused, Adriatic-inspired cooking, led by chef Michele Rocchi, according to The Montclair Girl's 2026 new-business roundup. The same roundup lists Jungle Juice, which opened in early June at 51 Upper Montclair Plaza with fresh-pressed juices, smoothies and acai bowls.
In August, Farmhouse Fried Chicken opened at 223 Bellevue Avenue. Owners Dan Campeas and Dayanna Ordonez held a ribbon-cutting on Aug. 14 with Mayor Dr. Renee Baskerville. Montclair Local reported that this is the couple's second Upper Montclair restaurant, after the nearby Dan & Day's Burgers & Shakes, and its writers named the Hot Honey Fried Chicken Sandwich as a favorite.
All three openings came from operators the coverage names, and two of them involved owners expanding in a neighborhood where they already work. That was the year's pattern. The new restaurants with a specific chef or owner behind them mostly opened north of downtown.
Orange Road got the most ambitious single build
Pig & Butter at 401 Orange Road was the year's biggest new project outside the center of town. Chef-owner Sherry Grimes opened two spaces side by side. One is a full-service restaurant for dinner and weekend brunch. The other is an all-day coffeehouse and sandwich counter. Montclair Local reported the schedule as a soft opening Aug. 7 through Aug. 9, with regular service starting Wednesday, Aug. 12. An earlier item had set a July 31 ribbon-cutting, but the later Aug. 7 date is the one that stuck.
The wine list draws on Unionville Vineyards, and some of the cocktails are made with the winery's wines. One address now covers a morning coffee, a weekday lunch and a weekend dinner, which is a lot to ask of a single storefront. Like Clementina and Farmhouse Fried Chicken, it opened away from Bloomfield Avenue.
Downtown traded long-running rooms for counters
On Bloomfield Avenue and Church Street, the year looks different. Several long-running spots closed, and most of the new arrivals serve quick meals. Here's how the main addresses changed in 2026:
| Address | What left | What arrived or is planned |
|---|---|---|
| 702 Bloomfield Ave. | Uncle Momo, closed end of June | No replacement reported |
| 407 Bloomfield Ave. | Aozora, closed after 15 years | No replacement reported |
| 520 Bloomfield Ave. | Tous Les Jours, closed in August | Lenwich signage, no opening date |
| 512 Bloomfield Ave. | Ju-Ichi Japanese Restaurant, open by June 9 | |
| 412 Bloomfield Ave. | Hummus Republic, open by June 9 | |
| 2 Church St. | Chip City, closed Oct. 2 | No replacement reported |
| 25 Church St. | Toastique, opened in June | |
| 40 Church St. | Oggi Gelato, grand opening set for Oct. 10 |
The closings cost downtown some history. Aozora served Japanese food at 407 Bloomfield for 15 years. Its farewell post said the staff was "incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us all these years," as Montclair Local reported. Owner Ali Lyoussi told Montclair Local that Uncle Momo closed because its lease was ending and the rent increase was more than he could justify. The restaurant served French, Lebanese and Mediterranean food. Tous Les Jours, the French-Asian-inspired bakery chain, left 520 Bloomfield less than two years after moving into the former Lululemon space.
Most of the arrivals are counter-service. Hummus Republic builds Mediterranean bowls, wraps and pitas to order. Toastique, whose Montclair location is owned by Zariah Ahmed according to The Montclair Girl, serves gourmet toasts, smoothie bowls, juices and coffee. Oggi Gelato scheduled its Church Street grand opening for Saturday, Oct. 10, with free gelato, a live DJ and prosecco, and Montclair Local described it as the chain's first New Jersey shop. A few doors away, Chip City's shop at 2 Church Street closed on Friday, Oct. 2, when the company shut every location, the same Montclair Local article reported.
Ju-Ichi is the main exception. The family-owned spot at 512 Bloomfield serves sushi, sashimi, ramen, udon and donburi, so it replaces at least part of the Japanese menu that left with Aozora. Bagel Supreme, now inside Lackawanna Station at 1 Lackawanna Plaza, follows the quick-meal pattern with breakfast and lunch and a build-your-own cream-cheese bar.
Downtown's next sit-down rooms depend on old buildings
Downtown has three full-service restaurants in the pipeline. All three are tied to buildings with a past. By late October, none had a firm opening date, and only Cassaforte had a stated target.
Industry Tavern, Lackawanna Terminal. The former Pineapple Express space at Lackawanna Plaza sat empty after the barbecue restaurant abruptly announced its closure in January. David Placek, whose company BDP Holdings owns Lackawanna Plaza, confirmed to Montclair Local that the Industry Tavern team signed a lease. The owners, menu and opening date had not been announced. On Instagram, the restaurant calls itself a "classic, warmly nostalgic tavern" inside the 1913 terminal. The room has history. Pig & Prince renovated the long-neglected Lackawanna Railroad station years ago and brought back its architectural details. The Montclair Girl's Sept. 25 fall roundup still listed no date.
Cassaforte, 475 Bloomfield Ave. Demetri Malki, who owns De Novo, and his partners bought the former Chase Bank building in April 2025. They plan to turn it into an Italian steakhouse, with Robert Pantusa of Montclair's La Rocca Osteria as partner and chef. Malki told The Montclair Girl that the walls are about 24 inches thick and filled with concrete, so taking down a wall means hiring a company and waiting. Plans went in for permits about three months before that late-August interview. Construction can't start until approvals come through, and the target is April or May 2027. He explained the idea to the same outlet: "We have all these different ethnic cuisines, but we didn't have a steakhouse." He wants it to feel casual and neighborhood-oriented, not like a special-occasion steakhouse. NorthJersey.com also covered the plan.
Mexicali Rose, 428 Bloomfield Ave. Montclair Local confirmed that the Restaino family is bringing back the restaurant, which used to be at 10 Park Street. NorthJersey.com reported on Aug. 10 that no opening date had been announced, and the latest coverage still lists none.
Downtown's other pending item is smaller. Montclair Local spotted signs for Lenwich, the New York City sandwich chain, at 520 Bloomfield in the former Tous Les Jours space. The Montclair Girl's fall roundup called that location unconfirmed.
Much of the difference in timing comes down to buildings. Downtown's biggest projects mean reworking a historic rail terminal and converting a bank with concrete-filled walls. The only one with a stated target, Cassaforte, is aiming for spring 2027.
A practical note before you go
Several of this year's openings have only been open a few months. Hours and menus at new restaurants often change in the first season, so check a spot's own channels before you make the drive to Valley Road or Orange Road.
If you'd like to talk through what this year's openings, closings and pending conversions mean for a property you own or are considering in Montclair, Billy Pena and TeamPENA are glad to share what we're seeing. Let's Connect.
