Aaron Rodgers’ landing in the leafy Montclair, NJ area has local residents flying high over the arrival of the Jets superstar.
The 39-year-old future Hall of Fame NFL quarterback is rumored to have handed off more than $9.5 million for a stunning, glass-enclosed,eight-bedroom,10-bathroom estate located on the Montclair-Cedar Grove border.
“If he wins a Super Bowl we’ll immediately make him the Fourth of July grand marshal and maybe name a school after him,” quipped Montclair resident Tim Barr, a Jets season ticket holder since 1985.
“As a family of Jets fans, I know we’ll be excited to spot him from time to time, but give him space. We’re his kind of town and his kind of people — he’ll love it here,” Barr added.
The Montclair Diner on Valley Road, which has been a community staple since 1923 and counts Whoopi Goldberg as a satisfied customer, has a plate out for the former Green Bay Packer.
“If he comes in we definitely recommend the chicken and waffles and the shrimp and grits,” chief of staff Lynda Edgeson said, adding, “and being he’s an amazing quarterback, we have the Superhero breakfast,” which features pancakes, bacon and eggs, sausage and ham, home fries and toast.
Attorney David Sullivan, 51, recommended Rodgers visit the Eagle Rock Reservation — a 400+ acre park along the Watchung Mountains ridge line located between West Orange, Montclair and Verona NJ — on his next darkness retreat.
“I’m sure he’ll like it here, but I’m an Eagles fan, so I’d much rather bump into [Eagles center] Jason Kelce at the Acme than Aaron Rodgers,” Sullivan snarked.
Cedar Grove businesses are also putting out the welcome mat for Rodgers.
“I’ve driven past that house before. It’s gorgeous,” said David Fletcher, who owns Cedar Beans Coffee Joint on Pompton Avenue. Fletcher noted he heard the rumors for weeks from people in the know, and hopes Rodgers will drop in for a blueberry scone and a cup of of joe.
Chris Carley made his pitch for the Jets superstar to visit iconic Holsten’s — home of Tony Soprano’s last meal — just a Hail Mary pass away in Bloomfield.
“We’d love to have him!” co-owner Carley, a big-time Jets fan, said. “We’ll set him up in the Sopranos booth and start him off with a bowl of Tony’s onion rings.”
If Rodgers should feel the urge to rub shoulders with a celeb, TV talk show host Stephen Colbert and actor Patrick Wilson live less than two miles away from Rodgers’ new neighborhood.
Dave Campanaro, a 47-year-old Montclair resident with Staten Island roots, suggested Rodgers hit The Great Notch Inn, a rock and blues roadhouse in nearby Little Falls.
“That seems like his scene!” the creative director said.