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NJ Hall of Fame sneak peek: Video
A hologram-like video of Frankie Valli singing ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ at the New Jersey Hall of Fame at American Dream Mall.
A restaurant offering Italian cuisine and modern cocktails has opened at The Avenue, a luxury retail and dining wing at the American Dream megamall in the Meadowlands.
The restaurant — Isola Bella — features cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages, wine and champagne. The menu includes such dishes as jumbo shrimp cocktail, caviar selections, pastrami smoked salmon and smoked sea bass.
Isola Bella is named after an Italian island of the same name, situated in Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. The 50-acre island has been inhabited for centuries, according to a local tourism website, and features a small fishing village, palazzo and garden.
The eatery joins one other restaurant at The Avenue — Carpaccio — which also offers Italian fare.
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The Avenue’s most recent addition, before the opening of Isola Bella, was a two-floor boutique operated by Italian luxury brand Gucci.
Other luxury brands include the eyewear store Gentle Monster, the French luxury fashion line Balenciaga, the watch retailer TimeVallée, the outdoor-wear retailer Canada Goose and the jeweler Tiffany & Co.
“Who knew New Jersey would be the ultimate glamour spot?” Jonathan Adler, who designed several sculptures throughout The Avenue, said during the long-awaited ribbon-cutting at the wing in 2021.
American Dream, owned by Canadian developer Triple Five, also features an amusement park with roller coasters, as well as a water park, a 300-foot Ferris wheel, miniature golf, ice skating, and the only year-round indoor ski and snowboard park in North America.
Recently, the mall opened an attraction at its indoor theme park based on the popular children’s TV show “PAW Patrol,” as well as a “learn and play” center powered by Sesame Street and an anchor exhibit for the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
The sprawling entertainment and retail complex also features over 50 dining options and over 200 stores, including Babies R Us and Toys R Us.
When and where?
The new restaurant is on the first floor of The Avenue. It had an opening date of Oct. 31.
Hours are 2 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The website is https://isolabellaad.com/.
Rebound in finances for American Dream
The mall — whose construction was financed by over $1 billion in state and local subsidies — has seen a rebound in its finances in the past six months, after years of fiscal headaches, including quadruple financial losses in 2022, a deluge of lawsuits over unpaid bills, and a years-long quarrel with several cleaning staff members trying to form a union.
But in a reversal of fortune, American Dream posted two straight quarters of positive financial growth, bond filings show.
Over the summer, holders of nearly $300 million in municipal bonds that were sold to finance the mall’s construction saw their first interest payments from the mall after more than two years of waiting.
The bonds are backed by grants from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. U.S. Bank, which is making the payments, previously had to skip the payments after problems with the necessary documentation.
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook