Welcome back to the Easton Food Market! Initially, I posted this store on Flickr after my visit in September of 2016, but I've now prepared it as a full tour. Going forward, I'm trying to get some of the pre-blog material on Flickr written up for the blog. So far, it's slow going.
This supermarket is located way in the back of a residential neighborhood of Easton, and backs up to INT-78.
According to Josh Austin, it opened as a Food Lane supermarket in 1962 but was later expanded into a Laneco department store. After this closed in 1997, TJ Bart's (a local chain) moved in, closing by about 2005. C-Town, owned by
Juan Diaz, moved in soon thereafter, remaining in business until about 2012. Easton Food Market, a
Pioneer supermarket, moved in (possibly even keeping the store open during the transition). The store itself is quite large, and commenters on Josh's Flickr page say that C-Town blocked off part of the sales floor, so it's possible EFM has reopened all of the sales floor space.
Acting as a small supercenter for the lower-income neighborhood, this store offers everything from a cafeteria and HABA to a dollar-store section and U-Haul rental! You enter under the logo and turn right to the produce department, which runs along the front wall.
The green wall is the front of the store. The produce department is very attractive and well-stocked.
Looking along the front-end. The entrance is just past the end of the green wall section, with grocery aisles to the right.
Meats are in the first aisle, with frozen foods in the second aisle. Deli is in the back corner on this side with dairy along the back wall, and hot food/bakery in the far back corner. The bright colors on the walls make the store feel very lively, and it helps that it's spotlessly clean.
Packaged meats and butcher (closed in the early morning, when I visited) in the first aisle, with deli in the back corner.
Dairy (yellow) runs along the back wall.
Looking up the frozen aisle (second) towards the front of the store. Old cases, but in nice condition.
Very yellow dairy along the back wall. Again, these refrigerator cases are very old, but well-maintained, like most of the store. The aisle markers are new and feature the (awful) apple-keystone-flowerpot(?) combination logo.
Looking up the center aisle from the frozen foods side, with the front of the store to the left.
Hot food, bakery, and a small seating area (behind the soda) in the back corner. This area is very spacious. I was not as
brazen ahem, confident with my picture-taking as I am now, so I didn't go any closer.
Large bulk foods section in front of the hot food-bakery area.
The side wall is lined with home goods, toys, etc. A much larger selection than I had expected.
Even greeting cards! Common in larger supermarkets, but not the small ethnic-type stores.
Looking back towards yellow dairy.
HABA and the customer service section along the front-end.
And finally, looking from the service/HABA side of the front-end towards produce/meats. I think produce is the only department (other than hot food and frozen) that gets a sign. The others just get colors!
I was very surprised and impressed with Easton Food Market, a very clean, well-stocked, and full-service supermarket. Plus, the staff went out of their way to be friendly. Definitely stop by if you're ever in the area!
And if my tour isn't enough...the
About Us page has a great set of photos that show the whole place very thoroughly.
Easton Food Market
250 Line St, Easton, PA
Open Mon-Sat 8AM-9PM, Sun 8AM-8PM
http://www.eastonfoodmarket.com
(610) 252-2005
My Rating: ★★★★★
Awesome! I live close to this store. Never been in it, but I remember when it was a C-Town. Absolutely horrifying, but it looks like the new owners brought it back to life! If I remember correctly, isn't this store owned by the fabled Fresh Imperium owner Neftali Medina & Son?
ReplyDeleteYes, I think they did. You should definitely go sometime! I'm not sure exactly who owns this store, but I actually don't believe it's the Medinas. Initially I had thought they were because I saw Neftali Medina listed as the owner of 250 Meat & Produce Corp, and I assumed that it was this store at 250 Line St, Easton. Actually, that refers to the Pioneer Supermarket at 250 Willis Ave, Bronx, NY.
DeleteI believe that the Medinas are no longer in the business. Both Fresh Imperiums have closed, their Freehold Fresh Market has closed, and the only other store I knew they owned (the Willis Ave store) I think has been sold. Hard to tell who owns the Easton Food Market. The C-Town was owned by Juan Diaz, who also has stores in Allentown, Bethlehem, Reading, and the Bronx.
Ok. I should definitely go sometime, but my schedule has been limited lately (I've been planning posts non-stop... right now I have all posts planned until July 11th) Have you ever been to the Farmers Market & Public Market in Easton near Crayola? Amazing vendors there... It's worth the trip alone.
DeleteDo the Medinas own Pioneer Supermarkets? It looks like their handiwork. This store is part of the Associated group, correct?
Also... on a side note, (Not sure if you've been looking at my blog lately) I found a jackpot of America's Choice product images online... Over 1,000 of them, but I downloaded around 650+. So in 2019, for a full year, I will be posting one America's Choice product per day... which will be some journey!
Yes, the day I visited the supermarkets in the Lehigh Valley, I started the day with the Easton Public Market. Really cool! I wish I could have bought some groceries there.
DeleteLike most NYC-area supermarkets, Pioneer stores are independently owned and operated. The Medinas own(ed? I don't know) some, but they are by no means the controlling interest in Pioneer. Pioneer is a banner under the Metropolitan CityFoods division of Associated Supermarket Group (asghq.com). Basically, that division was formed for ASG's acquisition of the DiGiorgio/White Rose stores (Met & Pioneer): https://progressivegrocer.com/associated-foods-establishes-metropolitan-city-foods-div There are three divisions of ASG: Associated Food Holdings (Associated), MCF (Met & Pioneer), and Grupo Compare (Compare Foods).
And yes, I check your blog at least once a day! That's awesome! I have a few pictures of America's Choice items that will be going up in a few weeks, but no more than about 4-5.
Their fruit-and-nut stand (as well as ramen bar) are very good. It's a brand new establishment in the town.
DeleteAlso, if you're in Frenchtown to look at the IGA / former A&P (It's worth the trip, without a doubt), quick tip... head over to Milford and go to Bridge Street Bagels... they have THE BEST bagels around.
The bad thing about some of the America's Choice pictures I found is that they're very low-res... almost icon size. I'll be trying to take a trip to Grocery Outlet this weekend to see if they have any AC household products. Have you seen any lately? Ollies sold most of theirs.
Thanks for the recommendations!
DeleteI've only found a package of AC rubber gloves at the Bravo in Dover. On the other hand, I haven't been specifically looking for them, either.