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Hannaford - Belfast, ME

Hannaford Opened: between 2001 and 2003 Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  Shop n' Save (opened ca. 1980; converted to Hannaford between 2001 and 2003) Cooperative:  none Location:  93 Lincolnville Ave, Belfast, ME Photographed:  August 14, 2019 In Massachusetts and Connecticut, one of the grocery chains uses the slogan "It's no big surprise, it's my Big Y." But here in Maine, a significantly less catchy slogan could be "It's no big surprise, it's another freakin' Hannaford." The Maine native chain has around 70 stores in the state (almost a third of the supermarkets in Maine, more than any other chain). And here we are at another location -- built around 1980 as a Shop n' Save but converted to Hannaford in the early 2000s. This store measures about 55,000 square feet, and was probably most recently remodeled on the outside when it switched from Shop n' Save to Hannaford. This is the largest grocery store in Belfast, but on Mo...
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Special Report: Met Fresh Supermarket - Brooklyn, NY (Fort Greene)

Met Fresh Supermarket Opened: April 10, 2026 Owner:  Danny Hamdan Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  Associated Supermarket Group Location:  340 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY Photographed:  April 17, 2026 There are 18 Met Foods stores in and around New York City, and while the chain is much smaller than it once was with dozens of locations, it's started to grow again recently. That's thanks in large part to the Hamdan family's new stores, which are popping up around the city under the Met Fresh brand. (In fact, seven of the 18 Met stores are owned by the family.) Most recently, Danny Hamdan opened a gorgeous Met Fresh in a former Rite Aid in lower Manhattan, but the stores are around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens (plus one on the way in Philadelphia). One of them is even about two and a half miles east on Myrtle Avenue, the same street this is on. Like the others, this isn't a particularly large supermarket, though at 11,000 square feet it's not tiny either. ...

Wentworth Family Grocery - Northport, ME

Wentworth Family Grocery Opened:  2009 Owner:  JP & Rhonda Wentworth Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  Associated Grocers of New England Location:  655 Atlantic Hwy, Northport, ME Photographed:  June 16, 2022 Wentworth Family Grocery is a small chain of three grocery stores in this area of Maine, and the Northport store is a relatively new store having been constructed from the ground up in 2009. It's around 10,000 square feet, or slightly larger than the independent grocers I've been posting in the last couple days. And as we wind our way through this part of Maine, we'll see one other Wentworth location, so more on that soon. Tomorrow, we'll be headed up to the larger town of Belfast!

Lincolnville Center General Store - Lincolnville, ME

Lincolnville Center General Store Open:  mid 1800s-2024 Owner:  Briar Lyons Previous Tenants:  none Later Tenants:  Owen's General Store Cooperative:  none Location:  269 Main St, Lincolnville, ME Photographed:  August 15, 2019 We're kind of out here in the country in this part of Maine, although it's far from the most remote area. But that means this is general store country. The Lincolnville Center General Store opened around the mid-1800s, and I took some pictures in 2019. Five years later, it was sold and rebranded as Owen's General Store (it's still open under that name today). This upscale general store was actually acquired about 20 years ago by Briar Lyons, the wife of drummer John Fishman of the band Phish . There's a little bit of everything here, including a bulk department, some local produce, and a cafe in the back with some really good homemade pizza. The basics and some higher-end items populate the shelves. Once again, we're not exactly...

Megunticook Market - Camden, ME

Megunticook Market Opened:  2023 under current ownership; unknown previously Owner:  Nishant Patel Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  Associated Grocers of New England Location:  2 Gould St, Camden, ME Photographed:  August 10, 2019 and June 16, 2022 Outside of Camden is this tiny supermarket -- the Megunticook Market, so named for the bordering Megunticook River and spanning just 5000 square feet. (That still makes it almost double the size of French & Brawn in town.) Part convenience store, part full supermarket, part take-out restaurant, and part amazing bakery -- I've been to the Megunticook Market several times, including in both 2019 and 2022 (and the photos come from both visits). You enter in the front-left corner where there's a table displaying the amazing baked goods -- more shortly -- with grocery aisles in the middle of the store. Deli and prepared foods are at the back of the store, with produce, meat, dairy, and frozen at the back ...

French & Brawn Marketplace - Camden, ME

French & Brawn Marketplace Opened: 1868 Owner:  Todd Anderson Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  Associated Grocers of New England Location:  1 Elm St, Camden, ME Photographed:  August 11, 2019 Welcome to quaint downtown Camden! This small waterfront city has a Hannaford just outside of town , but right in town is the French & Brawn Marketplace. This grocer actually dates all the way back to 1868, and the store is only about 2500 square feet at the main intersection of the town. You can tell from the wonderful exterior that this store has been here for many decades! Actually, more than a century. The store faces Elm Street, the main street in town, with a side entrance in the back to the deli and butcher area. Heading in, we can tell the store is very old-school but wonderfully preserved and a really nice, small town supermarket. Produce is in the front-right corner, with frozen foods in the rest of the first aisle. Deli and butcher are in the back c...