"My money is on the end of September, could slip to early October." Mark Fetta, who leads the Riverton development team, said that at a July meeting of the Sayreville Economic and Redevelopment Agency, according to The Sayreville Insider. He put his confidence at "about 80, 85" percent.
The end of September came and went, and so did early October. If you live in Parlin, you have probably driven past the big building on the Raritan River side of Sayreville many times and wondered when the parking lot would finally fill up. Bass Pro Shops will open. When it does, it will stand mostly alone on a 270-acre site meant for retail, homes, offices and public waterfront space. Every other piece of Riverton runs on its own longer schedule.
How the opening date kept moving
The target has shifted every time officials gave an update. Here is how it changed through 2026:
- June 19. Bass Pro's own announcement said the Sayreville store was "expected to open this fall."
- July. Fetta predicted the end of September, with early October as the fallback, and said the building was going through a "20-step program" of inspections.
- September 10. SERA Executive Director Himanshu Sha said it "looks like middle of October," and that Bass Pro "definitely" wants to open before Thanksgiving, as The Sayreville Insider reported.
- October 13. TAPinto Raritan Bay reported that construction was still going on and that the company "has not yet announced a grand opening date."
The next day, NJ.com described the store as still under construction and expected to open later in 2026. As of late October, "before Thanksgiving" is the firmest public marker. The September meeting gave one reason the dates keep moving. A building this size needs a certificate of occupancy before the public can come in, and that month crews were "ramping up" for the inspection. Final paving and striping were done on the Bass Pro lot and Riverton Boulevard, while landscaping and grading for a boat-storage area were still underway.
Inside the store, the opening comes in stages too
Bass Pro calls the Sayreville building 200,000 square feet and its largest single-level location in the U.S. The centerpiece is a 65,000-gallon Shipwreck Aquarium. Next to it is a 12,000-gallon ray touch pool, along with jellyfish exhibits and a children's interactive Sketch Aquarium. The Sayreville Insider has also reported an indoor archery range with hand-painted murals, where customers can try equipment before buying, and an indoor bowling alley that was being installed in September.
The aquarium couldn't be filled the day the walls went up. Kevin Polston of the Riverton development team told SERA in July that "we have to condition that water for 30 days before we can introduce any fish."
The restaurant is on its own schedule. In January, NJBIZ reported that Wahlburgers, the chain founded by Mark and Donnie Wahlberg and chef Paul Wahlberg, planned an eatery inside the Sayreville store. At the July SERA meeting, Polston said something different. He said the restaurant was not expected to open with the store, that Bass Pro planned to run it itself, and that its projected opening was spring 2027. The October hiring event added to the uncertainty. It sought 120 hosts, servers, bartenders, cooks and dishwashers for the restaurant, and the announcement didn't name a brand.
On the first visits, you should plan to shop and look at the aquarium, and plan to eat somewhere else. That's a practical point for an outing with kids or out-of-town guests.
The holiday question
Bass Pro's stores are known for free seasonal events, and TAPinto's October report said the Sayreville location is expected to have "free seasonal experiences for families." The biggest is Santa's Wonderland. The company's national Santa's Wonderland page lists Santa's arrival for Saturday, November 7 at 5 p.m., with a free mini-reindeer plush while supplies last. Free 4-by-6 Santa photos run from November 8 through December 24.
That page covers the whole chain and doesn't list individual stores. Sayreville can only take part once its doors are open, and the opening date is still the open question. If you're planning a Santa photo, check the store's own page closer to the date before you count on it. Last year, Bass Pro's 2025 announcement said photo reservations could be booked up to seven days ahead and that walk-ins were taken first come, first served. The 2026 rules for this store haven't been published.
Sayreville's own holiday night is already on the calendar. Sayreville Recreation's 2026 schedule, as published by TAPinto Raritan Bay, lists the Holiday Parade of Lights for Sunday, December 6, starting at 6 p.m. on Main Street.
Getting in from Parlin
From Parlin, the trip is short but goes through one of the busiest interchanges in the county. The Riverton project FAQ describes access through the Exit 125 interchange network. It links the Garden State Parkway, U.S. 9 and Route 35 to Chevalier Avenue, now Riverton Boulevard, and to Main Street Extension. The FAQ also describes widening where Route 35 south transitions onto U.S. 9.
Riverton Boulevard and the store's lot were paved and striped by September. Bass Pro also expects a regional crowd. Project leaders described the store as a draw for visitors from across the region, with more than 300 employees once it's fully running. No traffic plan for opening week has been published. A weekday visit after the opening rush is the lower-friction choice for anyone who uses Routes 9 and 35 for the daily commute.
Everything after Bass Pro runs on a longer clock
SERA's September recap described work "throughout the Riverton redevelopment site": the Gateway Services area, QuickChek, and new pad sites where work had only just started. SERA also closed the first round of Redevelopment Area Bonds on September 10. Those bonds pay for infrastructure already built on the site, and that roadwork and utility work is what makes the later phases possible.
Here is where each announced piece stood at last report:
| Riverton piece | Latest public status | When it was last reported |
|---|---|---|
| Bass Pro Shops store | Under construction, no grand-opening date; "before Thanksgiving" per SERA | October 13–14, 2026 |
| In-store restaurant | Projected for spring 2027, operated by Bass Pro | July 2026 |
| QuickChek | Expected "shortly afterward" Bass Pro; site work preliminary | September 2026 |
| Starbucks | Approved as a planned tenant, no date | February 2025 |
| Waterfront promenade | Described as a future amenity | 2024 developer FAQ |
| Residences | About 2,000 planned over more than 12 years, no phase dates | 2024 developer FAQ |
The Starbucks item is the oldest on the list. Patch reported the agreement in February 2025, and no opening date has been announced since. The same developer FAQ that describes the promenade also said the first Gateway Services businesses would arrive in 2025. QuickChek was still in early site work in September 2026.
The parts of Riverton that would change everyday life in Parlin the most are the walkable river frontage, the coffee stop and the new homes. Those are also the parts with the least specific schedules. A 12-year build-out of roughly 2,000 residences means this waterfront will still be under construction long after the Bass Pro grand opening.
I'll be keeping an eye on Riverton as each piece opens, and I'm always glad to share what I hear from Sayreville. If you're curious how the new development might fit into your own plans around Parlin, Michelle Wasko is happy to talk it through. Let's Connect.
