A long-awaited IHOP on St. Georges Avenue has become the latest symbol of a leadership more invested in ribbon-cuttings than results, and more loyal to dubious developers than the taxpayers footing the bill.
Councilwoman Denise Wilkerson and Mayor Donald Shaw, the architects of this stalled project, now face scrutiny for partnering with Adenah Bayoh, a developer whose track record includes a trail of broken promises and a recent eviction from Paterson’s Center City Mall over $516,756 in unpaid rent, $196,624 in management fees, and $387,182 in defaulted loan payments.
Bayoh, a Liberian immigrant celebrated for her entrepreneurial efforts, operates through Foya Foods LLC, the entity behind IHOP franchises in Newark, Irvington, and Paterson.
Her portfolio spans $200 million in Essex County real estate and includes the Cornbread restaurant chain, lauded for its farm-to-table Southern comfort food, but her employees are not making the subminimum $5.62 per hour because the Paterson restaurant was evicted, and ground has not yet been broken in Roselle, more than three years after Shaw spent taxpayer money to recruit the negligent developer.
Yet her financial entanglements in Paterson—where her IHOP faced allegations of roach infestations and “lazy” service, according to public complaints, paint a stark contrast to the shiny public image that snared Wilkerson and Shaw.
For Wilkerson and Shaw, the IHOP project fits a troubling pattern: prioritize spectacle over substance.
Wilkerson, a perennial candidate dogged by foreclosure lawsuits and allegations of financial mismanagement, has long touted her role in Roselle’s “progress,” including a $17 million library and refurbished football field. But critics argue these achievements mask deeper rot.
Former Mayor Christine Dansereau, who resigned in frustration over Wilkerson’s “antics,” alleges the councilwoman allowed critical programs, like a housing inspection initiative that generated $350,000 annually, to collapse, leaving residents vulnerable to unsafe living conditions.
Mayor Shaw, meanwhile, praises Wilkerson’s “proven leadership,” even as his administration presides over a governance crisis: a part-time CFO, a vacant business administrator role filled by the fire chief, and a tax assessor working on borrowed time.
The IHOP delay is merely one chapter in a saga of unmet deadlines and squandered opportunities.
Bayoh’s troubled history raises serious questions about due diligence. Why would Roselle’s leaders stake the borough’s economic revival on a developer whose Paterson venture owed over $1.1 million and drew scathing reviews? For Wilkerson, the answer may lie in her affinity for political theater.
During her tenure, she allegedly exploited a nonprofit meant to aid disaster victims, staging photo ops with checks while volunteers did the actual work.
Now, the IHOP project offers fresh fodder for headlines—even as the borough’s infrastructure crumbles and municipal services erode.
As the IHOP languishes, so too does public faith in Wilkerson and Shaw.
Their “Stronger Together” slogan rings hollow to residents navigating potholed roads, understaffed departments, and a government more adept at self-congratulation than problem-solving.
Bayoh’s IHOP eviction in Paterson serves as a grim omen: when the griddle cools and the cameras leave, Roselle may be left with nothing but empty plates—and emptier promises.
For a borough already straining under the weight of unmet needs, the stakes have never been higher.