The Loew's Is Back. For Now, Its Night Out Happens Across the Street.

In 1986, the last movie the Loew's Jersey Theatre showed before it closed was Friday the 13th. Tomorrow is Friday, November 13, and that's the night the restored theater at 54 Journal Square Plaza opens its doors again, with the Trey Anastasio Band starting its Grand Opening Weekend.

Two doors down, at 48 Journal Square Plaza, Boulevard Drinks is in its last weeks beside the theater, after about 50 years as its neighbor. NJ.com reported that its last day there is November 30. The theater is coming back just as the property next door has been approved for something new. Until that's built, a night at the Loew's will start and end on the other side of the plaza.

A 1929 Room, Run Like a 2026 Venue

The restoration covered the exterior facades, the public spaces, the stage and support areas, and the building's mechanical systems, and it added upgraded audio and lighting. In October, News 12 reported that the exterior had been returned to how it looked in 1929, the marquee was back up, and the lobby chandelier was going in.

The way it's run is new. HBSE operates the venue, and NJBIZ reported in February that Bruce Wheeler was named general manager, responsible for day-to-day operations and events. The theater opened in 1929 as a 3,000-seat movie palace. Today the venue lists flexible seating for 2,600 to 4,000 guests, depending on how the room is set up. That range explains the booking: the opening calendar mixes standing-room rock shows with seated holiday programs.

The December 19 Jersey Nutcracker by Nimbus Dance is the most local show on the list, booked into the same holiday stretch as the touring acts. The full calendar is on the theater's site.

The Neighbor Moving Out After Fifty Years

NJ.com has reported that Boulevard Drinks has been in Journal Square since 1937 and next to the Loew's for about 50 years. The stand had been there through the theater's closing, the fight to save it, and the long restoration. It's leaving in the first month the theater is back open.

It's leaving because of what's planned for the property right next to the Loew's. In April, Jersey Digs reported that the Jersey City Planning Board approved developer Nasser Freres' tower at 2859-2873 Kennedy Boulevard. The site now holds a two-story, curved retail building. Here's what was approved:

• 55 stories, rising just over 588 feet, designed by Handel Architects
• 840 apartments, 84 of them affordable
• A Whole Foods with double-height ceilings in roughly 48,687 square feet of ground-floor space
• No car parking, a 420-bike storage room in the cellar, and new loading bays on Magnolia Avenue
• A glass tower that keeps the curved design of the current building, with metal and copper details on the lower floors

The Whole Foods would be the grocer's second in Jersey City, after the Greene Street store Downtown that opened in 2023. In June, Jersey Digs reported that the project had a $375 million construction loan, with completion scheduled for early 2029.

Boulevard Drinks isn't going far. Owner Victor Victoratos told NJ.com that he signed a lease for a 500-square-foot space inside PATH Plaza, across the street, and expects to open there in February or March 2027. He told the outlet he wants the new spot to look as much like the old one as he can, with a takeout window, the signature counter, and stool seating.

"We're going to try to keep to pretty much the same aspects that we have here."

That move is a small version of the larger pattern. The oldest business on the theater's block is crossing the street, toward the transit hub, while its old address waits for a tower.

Why Show Night Starts on the Far Side of the Plaza

The theater's own guidance points the same way. The Loew's FAQ describes the venue as directly across from the Journal Square Transportation Center and recommends PATH, NJ Transit, and buses. It lists nearby private lots and garages, warns that space is limited, and suggests reserving ahead through ParkWhiz. The tower planned next door is approved with no car parking at all. For people who live nearby, the theater and its future neighbor both assume you'll arrive on foot or by train.

For a Friday or Saturday show, the timing works out like this:

1. Eat early at Journal Squared. The Café at Journal Squared, in the lobby at 595 Pavonia Ave., added an After Hours menu in June. It runs 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with beer, wine, loaded nachos and fries, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. On opening night, doors are at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m., so the café's hours cover the hour before doors.
2. Check box office hours. The FAQ says box office hours were set to begin in fall 2026, so look at the theater's site before planning a walk-up purchase.
3. Bring a small bag. The theater's bag rules restrict backpacks and oversized bags, and bags are subject to search. A purse under 12 by 12 inches meets the policy.
4. Eat inside, or after. Food and drinks, including alcohol, are sold at most events, and outside food and beverages aren't allowed. After the show, Hummus Republic at 2 Journal Square Plaza is open until midnight every day. Tribos Peri Peri Chicken at 60 Sip Ave. is newer, with a ribbon cutting on Monday, October 26.

For guests with mobility or hearing needs, the FAQ lists wheelchair-accessible seating and restrooms, street-level automatic doors into the orchestra, an elevator to the upper levels, and assisted-listening devices. It asks for three weeks' notice to arrange an ASL interpreter.

What Fills In Between Now and 2029

The theater's block will look unfinished for a while. Boulevard Drinks closes at 48 Journal Square Plaza at the end of this month, and its PATH Plaza counter is expected in February or March 2027. The tower's scheduled completion is early 2029. Over that stretch, the restored theater will stand next to a site that's waiting to be rebuilt.

The approval also brings something to watch for. Jersey Digs reported that the project uses a "Loew's Art Walk and Loading Bonus" in the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan. The theater's name is written into the approval of the building beside it.

Restaurants are also arriving a few blocks away. MENSHO, the ramen restaurant Jersey Digs reported for the ground floor of 505 Summit Ave., is one of the openings tied to Journal Square's 2026 season. With the Café at Journal Squared's evening hours and Tribos on Sip Avenue, the places for a meal around a show are clustering near the transit hub and the towers around it.

By early 2029, a Whole Foods and 840 apartments are scheduled to share the theater's block. Until then, a night at the Loew's starts at the PATH, and the hot dog stand you pass on the way will soon be across the street too.

The changes along this stretch of Kennedy Boulevard, from the reopened Loew's to the tower planned next door, are the kind of local development the Hudson Gold Team follows closely for the people who live around Journal Square. If you'd like to talk through what the next few years could mean for your building or your block, contact us.