Business News

Takeover proposals involving two major restaurant companies helped produce the week’s biggest stock market gains among the 32 companies tracked by the Franklin Reporter & Advocate Market Watch, even as Wall Street ended October with a sharp technology stock selloff.

Franklin Township’s cannabis tax collections rose more than 57 percent in the third quarter of 2026 compared to a year ago, but the increase was driven entirely by one cultivation business, according to financial records submitted to the township.

A 200,000-square-foot Bass Pro Shops store featuring an 80,000-gallon aquarium, restaurant and indoor entertainment center will open Nov. 11 in Sayreville, while a new supermarket combining traditional American groceries with Indian specialty foods is preparing for its official grand opening in Edison.

Conduent shares surged nearly 29 percent during the week ending Oct. 23, leading the 32 companies tracked by the Franklin Reporter & Advocate Market Watch, while a Chinese pharmaceutical company recorded the largest decline amid continuing uncertainty surrounding an investigation of its president. The week’s results were mixed for companies with Franklin Township connections, with 17 stocks gaining ground and …

Graphic: Nordstrom. Construction has begun on a new Sprouts Farmers Market in Bridgewater, with the specialty grocery chain now targeting an opening during the first half of 2027.

LEASE ANNOUNCED – Levin Property Management has announced that the former K-Mart and several attached spaces in Rutgers Plaza on Easton Avenue have been leased, with a formal announcement coming soon. (File photo.) Levin Management Corp., which manages Rutgers Plaza on Easton Avenue, has listed the shopping center’s former Kmart space as leased.

GRAND RE-OPENING – “Wendy” and “Mr. Frosty” were on hand October 10 to greet customers at the Easton Avenue Wendy’s Grand Re-Opening. A line of customers wrapped around the Wendy’s on Easton Avenue on Oct. 10 as the restaurant celebrated its grand reopening after a total remodel, with the first 100 guests going home with a card good for free …

OFFICIAL OPENING – Surrounded by Township, company and business officials, Dr. David Maloney cuts the ribbon for HearingLife’s new location in Cedar Grove Plaza on Cedar Grove Lane. HearingLife, a national provider of hearing health care services with corporate headquarters in Franklin Township, celebrated the grand opening of its new hearing care center in Cedar Grove Plaza on October 7 …

GENERATIONS AT WORK – Peter and Jason Stavrianidis (left to right) inside Venus Jewelers in Rutgers Plaza. (Photo: Venus Jewelers). Submitted by Venus Jewelers.

A local Verizon-authorized retailer will participate July 26 in a nationwide giveaway of backpacks for school children. The Verizon Wireless store in the Crossroads Somerset retail center at 441 Elizabeth Avenue will host the local “giveaway”School Rocks Backpack Giveaway,” set to start at 1 p.m.