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Special Report: Xtra Fresh Market - Philadelphia, PA

Xtra Fresh Market Opened: June 10, 2026 Owner: unknown Previous Tenants:  non-grocery tenants Cooperative: Krasdale Location: 7040 Castor Ave, Philadelphia, PA Photographed: June 26, 2026 Happy 4th and happy 250th birthday of America! Also, welcome to the grand opening of Xtra Fresh Market, a small independent grocer that opened last month on northeast Philly's Castor Avenue business corridor. Occupying a former office building, this supermarket occupies somewhere around 7500 square feet, so it's quite small. It's a little under a mile from Castor Avenue's new Compare & Save supermarket . That difference seems to be kind of significant. This store is much closer to a major retail center with ACME, Target, Giant, and Sprouts, and a bit removed from the business district where Compare & Save is. Even just a couple weeks after its opening, this store seems to be getting less traffic than Compare & Save. Above, a photo just before the opening to the left, a...
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Special Report: Cousin's Grocery Market - Philadelphia, PA

Cousin's Grocery Market Opened: June 2026 Owner: unknown Previous Tenants: Walgreens (2000-2023) Cooperative: none Location: 1607 Bridge St, Philadelphia, PA Photographed: June 26, 2026 Continuing our 4th of July celebration with another supermarket tour! This time we're in Philadelphia, visiting this store and another not too far away (plus one in Massachusetts ). You can probably tell what this store was previously from the outside alone, as it was built as a Walgreens in 2000 and closed in 2023. The roughly 15,000 square foot supermarket opened last month in a neighborhood notably lacking in grocery options especially since the loss of the longtime Holiday Thriftway about two blocks over. The need was clear: When I visited this store, it was already very busy, even at an off time. Cousin's Grocery Market has built out a surprisingly full supermarket in the small space, with produce and floral in the first aisle on the left side. An in-store bakery (I wasn't e...

Special Report: Shaw's - Marlborough, MA

Shaw's Opened: May 22, 2026 Owner: Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants: Victory Markets (late 1990s-2004) > Hannaford (2004-2025) Cooperative: none Location: 193 Boston Post Rd W, Marlborough, MA Photographed:  June 29, 2026 Welcome to the newest Shaw's (and more importantly, happy 4th of July and 250th anniversary of the United States)! What better way to celebrate the birth of our country than to tour a supermarket -- although honestly that's probably how I'd celebrate any occcasion. This 52,000 square foot supermarket was built around the late 1990s as a Victory Market, part of a local chain here in central Mass and southern New Hampshire, and Hannaford acquired the whole chain in 2004. Apparently, the landlord didn't renew Hannaford's lease when it was up, and Shaw's moved in after extensive renovation. This is the first new Shaw's in nearly a decade. The second most recent one opened in Hudson, MA -- about three miles north -- in 2017, al...