A tragedy occurred this year, as Menlo Park Mall’s Rainforest Cafe officially closed on the dark day of Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. This closure is a shock to many, as the beloved restaurant was a fixture of tropical entertainment and adventure for the past 27 years. Menlo’s Rainforest Cafe opened in September 1998, and since then, it has been a family-friendly staple of the mall.
If you’re like me and have grown up cherishing this magical space created as the jungle of Central New Jersey, then this unfortunate event has been a hard fate to accept. The restaurant and gift shop in Edison, NJ unexpectedly closed to the public, and right away began demolishing its appearance. Chief Officer of Operations Terry Turner, whose company oversees the restaurant, gave a statement regarding the popular eatery’s quick closing. He told the media, “Unfortunately, our lease was not renewed, so we had no choice but to close our doors at the end of business on February 19, 2025. We are grateful for the years of support from our loyal guests and dedicated team members.” Rainforest Cafe is supposedly searching for a new location, and we can only hope another Central Jersey one will arise in the near future.
As a big lover of the Rainforest Cafe chain, I’ve spent countless birthdays, gatherings, events, and just weekday dinners at the Menlo Park Mall’s jungle restaurant, collecting a new Cha-Cha frog souvenir cup each time I dined inside, and of course, a new photostrip from the Rainforest Cafe-themed photobooth. This place was nothing short of magical. With its every half-hour thunderstorm, animatronic animals, fish tanks, rainbow lighting, animal tail barstools, and its classic rainstorm scent, it was a setting one can only dream about. When I first heard the very sad news about my favorite restaurant’s closure, I traveled there the next day, hopingin hopes that the news would somehow be false. Alas, I was met with absolutely nothing. The fountain lining the entire wall had been drained, the gift shop emptied, the monkeys hanging across vines removed, the neon sign torn down, the restaurant dark and blocked off, and Tracy the Tree nowhere to be found.. All that remained in this beloved space was a lonesome snake hanging from the ceiling of the former entrance.
After this closing, 16 locations of the Rainforest Cafe remain in the country, as well as locations open in Canada, France, Japan, Malta, and two in the United Arab Emirates. Luckily, one New Jersey location is still available to dine in at the Atlantic City boardwalk, which I will absolutely be taking a trip to very soon, in honor of my beloved Menlo Park Mall Rainforest Cafe. Although this news is devastating, Cha-Cha and the rest of the Wild Bunch are still out there for us. This is not a goodbye from us Jersey jungle-lovers.