"The next time you hear someone complain about the apartments downtown, remind them that these restaurants, along with many other new businesses like Playa Bowls, Perla and Siwa Thai, would not be here without the customer base provided by the new housing." Mayor John McCormac said that in his State of the Township address on March 30, 2026, as Patch reported.
You can argue with how the mayor framed it. The practical result for anyone who already lives here is harder to argue with. By this fall, Main Street has the restaurants to anchor an evening. The township's October and November calendar also lands on Main Street and Rahway Avenue, close to those dining rooms. So a Saturday that used to mean dinner off Route 1 and an event somewhere else can now be planned around one small section of downtown Woodbridge.
Five dining rooms on one street, plus everything around them
Patch's April count is the baseline. Once Violette's opened, Woodbridge's Main Street would have five restaurants: Castello's, Strickland's, Pino's, Angelina's Kitchen and Violette's. That's five sit-down options, and it's what moves downtown from a coffee-and-errands stop to a place where you can book a table.
Violette's opened on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, inside Modera, the 280-apartment building across from the Municipal Complex. Chef Peter Botros and his partners Philip Farinacci and Ignacio Garcia run it. According to TAPinto, they're a Staten Island trio who also opened Caroline's Tavern, a restaurant and cocktail bar at the Avenel Performing Arts Center. The restaurant's own site calls the food contemporary American-Italian with Asian influence. It lists cocktails and separate lunch, brunch, dinner and late-night menus. In an October calendar full of evening events, a late-night menu is the detail that matters most.
The rest of the street fills in around it:
- Angelina's Kitchen, 415 Main Street, opened by owner Vincent Malerba in 2025
- Il Castello's, 81 Main Street
- Strickland's Steakhouse, which TAPinto calls a Main Street landmark since 2023, with a second-floor space set up for private parties
- Knot Just Bagels, 93 Main Street
- Perla Coffee House, 96 Main Street
- El Ranchito Mexican, 51-B Main Street
- Siwa Thai and Playa Bowls, both named by the mayor among the newer downtown businesses
Around the corner at Avenue & Green, 10 Green Street, LeGrand Coffee House has been open since 2022. TAPinto's April piece summed up the range in one line: sushi, Thai, Peruvian, a meatball Parmesan sub or Sichuan takeout, with more on the way.
That range helps on the nights the township has something planned. A table at Violette's or Strickland's suits a slow dinner. A quicker plate on Main Street suits a night when you want to get somewhere by a set time.
The fall calendar sits on the same blocks
Every event below is listed on the Woodbridge Township calendar, and every one has a Main Street or Rahway Avenue address. In date order:
- Saturday, October 10. The 19th annual Tour de Woodbridge runs 7 to 11 a.m. from the Woodbridge Community Center, 600 Main Street.
- Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18. The Woodbridge Ghost Walk runs 6 to 9:30 p.m. both nights at Parker Press Park, 400 Rahway Avenue.
- Friday, October 23. Gallery on Main, 101 Main Street, screens the 1959 "House on Haunted Hill" at 7 p.m. as part of its Art House Film Series. Admission is free, no reservations are needed and the popcorn is free too. The night also highlights the macabre work of artist and illustrator Laura Brown.
- Monday, November 30. The Barron Arts Center, 582 Rahway Avenue, holds its Holiday Tree Lighting and Train Show Reception from 6 to 8 p.m., with the St. James School Choir.
- November 30 through December 30. The free Holiday Model Train Show runs at the Barron Arts Center. It's closed December 24 and 25.
Gallery on Main, at 101 Main Street, is in the same address range as Il Castello's at 81 and Knot Just Bagels at 93. Few event nights downtown fit dinner more easily. The screening starts at 7 and is scheduled to end at 9. You can eat on Main Street before, or catch Violette's late-night menu after.
The Ghost Walk is a different kind of evening. It runs into the 9:30 hour on a Saturday and a Sunday. Booking dinner first, at a place with a reservation time you control, keeps the night from turning into a rush. Between the two nights, you can pick the one that works with your weekend.
The Tour de Woodbridge starts at 7 a.m., so it's a morning event. Perla Coffee House and Knot Just Bagels are both on Main Street, though the hours of individual shops weren't part of what the township published. Check with them before planning a post-event stop.
The Barron Arts Center dates stretch the season past Halloween. The tree lighting falls on a Monday, a quieter night for dinner reservations than a weekend. The train show then runs most of December for anyone hosting relatives over the holidays who wants a free outing close to home.
What hasn't opened yet
Several downtown projects announced this spring had no confirmed opening date in the reporting available as of early October 2026.
Strickland's expansion. The township approved a place-to-place expansion of Strickland's Steakhouse's liquor license, effective June 9, 2026. That approval ties to the plan the mayor described, turning the building next door into a banquet hall and party venue. No opening date for the adjacent hall has been announced. For a group dinner this season, the second-floor private party space on the restaurant's website is the option that exists today.
Avenue & Green. A new restaurant is planned for the ground floor of the Avenue & Green building, but as of the spring announcements its name hadn't been released.
Main and Fulton. Another restaurant will go into the 95-unit building under construction at Main and Fulton Streets. Patch described that opening as "a long way off" because construction had only just started this spring.
Two vacant Main Street properties. At the June 9, 2026 council meeting, Mayor McCormac called two vacant buildings in the middle of Main Street vital to its success. He said 78 Main Street was a dive bar and the other was bought with a restaurant in mind. The township is trying to force a sale to someone who will put them to good use, and it plans to resell them rather than hold them long term. He also said the township doesn't know what the use will be.
Michelle has been following how downtown Woodbridge's restaurant row and new buildings are reshaping Main Street. If you're weighing what these changes mean for your own home, or you'd just like to compare notes on a Ghost Walk dinner, Michelle Wasko is glad to talk Woodbridge with you. Let's Connect.
