The Market Report

 Here's a quick photo of another Gristedes in Manhattan. For some unknown reason, I saved this file on my computer as just "The Other Gristedes". Looks like it's actually at 1343 Lexington Ave, Manhattan, NY.

We're back in Elizabeth for yet another store here. Maybe you remember way back when I posted CitiGrocer , also in Elizabeth. CitiGrocer is owned by Supremo Foodmarket and is the newest Supremo. Ironically, the oldest Supremo is also here in Elizabeth, store #1 on Broad Street in Elizabeth. In this aerial photo from 1970, you can see a little of the old A&P on Broad Street in the bottom left corner. Notice how it faces Broad St; now the store faces the parking lot and Pearl St. A&P probably remodeled the store some time in the 1980s, and changed where its entrance was. A&P closed between 1993 and 1997, with Supremo opening in '97. In the beginning, I don't think Supremo did any substantial renovations, doing a somewhat major renovation ca. 2004 and another larger one ca. 2010. This Google Maps street view from 2007 shows how the store previously looked...pretty depressing. The more recent renovation brought a much-needed redo of the entire plaza including ...

The Westside Market chain of stores in New York City is a very upscale store found mostly in higher-income neighborhoods and sells mostly gourmet foods. This gourmet store is one of the best around and the use of space is incredible. The prices are on the high side, but the products are really worth it. Of course, you just might see a familiar name delivering to the store... Westside Market is a member of White Plains, NY-based Krasdale Foods, a cooperative that also runs lower-end C-Town and Bravo stores. I don't know if anyone's ever been this happy to eat Krasdale products.

Another competitor of the Ideal Marketplace and Fairway  in Chelsea, Manhattan, NYC is this Gristedes Megastore, only marginally larger than Ideal and about the size of Fairway. Gristedes is, however, far more expensive than Ideal or Fairway. Gristedes is a wholesale customer of Wakefern Food Corp and sells the ShopRite storebrand. I don't see how it's still hanging in there as it's generally agreed to be in the bottom five supermarkets of New York City.

Today's (unexpected!) post is somewhere between a Look Inside and a full tour. As we reported on Facebook a while back, Aquí Market has taken over the former A&P in the affluent rural/suburban town of Califon, NJ. Recently, I have been in touch with a local resident, Gerry K., who has a few photos of the new store. (According to him, this blog was one of the few online sources of information about Aquí. Looking back at my previous Aquí posts, I think I was a little harsh on them! This also explains why I have over 1300 views on that post alone.) All the photos here are his. Let's have a look!    Notice that this is actually a slightly different logo from what's used on the JC and Bridgewater stores. Gerry's Yelp review points out the store's Outpost name, which he thinks might suggest the owners are interested in opening other Outposts. Aquí has maintained the basic structure and appearance of the facade, while adding the rustic wood and stone touche...