"Walmart fits perfectly into our goal of creating a neighborhood-style shopping destination with a small-town feeling and pedestrian-friendly ambiance," GCP's director of leasing Michael Gartenberg tells GlobeSt.com. "For instance, the exterior of the free-standing building has been carefully designed with an intimate brick and concrete façade in contrast to the large, standardized facades found on typical single-level 'big-box' retail stores."

The Walmart opening also signifies the start of phase two at Raritan Town Square, which includes the groundbreaking of a 5,000-square-foot IHOP restaurant scheduled to open in the spring of 2010, indicates Gartenberg.

The center is already home to Longhorn Steakhouse, and this focus on food-based retailers should bode well for the property. The restaurant industry represents over 4% of the US's gross domestic product and employs 9% of the workforce, according to the National Restaurant Assoc., which projects an increase of 2.5% in restaurant revenue during 2009. In New Jersey, 2009 revenue is expected to surpass $12.5 billion.