The Market Report

. . . but still a shame. Fresh Emporium in Landing Closes for Good The reason this is important is it's the first A&P bankruptcy takeover to close for business (without plans for a replacement store by the same owners, like Fine Fare in Belleville - read the comments). I knew it would be either one of the Fresh Imperiums, The Food Emporium in Garwood, or Superfresh Edison (which both seem to be hanging on somehow).

Another Ethnic Superstore Atlantic Supermarket, Hyattsville, MD You'll notice I've been featuring a lot of ethnic stores lately. Expect that to continue! I've noticed the smaller, ethnic, and urban stores are significantly underrepresented in online supermarket blogging and coverage. This particular store, in Hyattsville, MD, a Washington, DC suburb, has gotten attention because it is a former Giant-MD store with the majority of its decor intact. It's also a pretty great ethnic supermarket. One interesting thing to take into account before touring the store is the demographics of Washington, DC as compared to those of its suburbs. Generally speaking, in the New York City area, the urban areas are the more ethnically diverse and lower-income, while the suburbs are higher-income and less diverse. The exact opposite is true in Washington, DC, meaning that the city stores are primarily extremely boring Safeways, Giants, and Whole Foods. The immediate suburbs, ho...

As promised long ago, here's a list of every single store affiliated with the Associated Group of NYC that I could find. As always, feel free to comment or email me with any additions, changes, or suggestions! SPREADSHEET Enjoy!

Here's two articles I found interesting about an unassuming Fine Fare Supermarket in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia. It seems the store has closed, making the photos all the more interesting. In Search of the Girard What is That?! A Look Inside Girard Theater

A Corner Store with Just About Everything Kenilworth Fresh Market, Kenilworth, NJ Despite the name, the Kenilworth Fresh Market is not a large, upscale supermarket. Instead, it's a neighborhood grocery store in the suburban town of Kenilworth, NJ, on Kenilworth Blvd (aka Boulevard). It was formerly called ExpresSupermarket. It does not appear that this property or building was ever any other supermarket historically. It seems that ExpresSupermarket was previously one or two smaller storefronts. There is a parking lot behind the store, and street parking in front. The view from Kenilworth Blvd:   The view from the parking lot:   They seemed to be using a fairly random assortment of carts, as is expected for a store like this. Most were pretty well disguised, but this one was from the former-A&P-now-Acme right up the street. Now for a quick tour. The aisles run parallel to Kenilworth Blvd with a few checkouts running perpendicular. The ...

NOT a former Centennial A&P ShopRite, Millburn, NJ If you're even moderately interested in supermarkets, you've probably heard the claim somewhere that the Millburn, NJ ShopRite is a former A&P Centennial model. I think it's been sufficiently established that it's not. It is, however, a former Good Deal supermarket run by Sam Aidekman, an original Wakefern member.* It was bought by its current owner ( Village Super Market of Springfield, NJ) around 1976 - not sure exactly where I got that year - when it was completely renovated. It may have been renovated once more since then but certainly no more than that. * For anyone who doesn't know, the name "Wakefern" is made up of the original members' last names. They are: W = Louis Weiss A = Alex & Sam Aidekman K = David Kesselman E = Nothing, but makes it easier to pronounce FERN = David Fern The wall facing Main St. is completely blank. It's often assumed that it was orig...