The Market Report

We saw the Bravo at 503 West Side Ave in Jersey City yesterday. Let's head about 3/4 of a mile north to the Fine Fare at 759 West Side Ave. This was the state of the West Side Fine Fare for many years until independent supermarket owner Mike Ayesh and his team came in. Like the Bravo, this store was gutted and outfitted with the latest decor and fixtures. West Side Ave is a busy retail district. It has been significantly revitalized recently, especially near the Fine Fare, but who knows if Fine Fare caused it or is simply evidence of the trend. The Fine Fare stands out from its neighboring buildings because it's one-story in this fairly urban neighborhood. It looks very nice, and I hope to return to get interior photos sometime.

More and more, supermarkets are significantly investing in lower-income neighborhoods. This store, located at 503 West Side Ave in the West Side neighborhood of Jersey City, is a perfect example. Unfortunately, this is what the store looked like as recently as 2013, as we see in this Google Maps street view. At the time it was owned by Frank Siam. But by the time 2015 came around, new management came in, gutted the building, and opened up a brand-new Bravo Supermarket in the same space. Unlike many supermarkets in neighborhoods like this, especially in super-popular Jersey City, and like the Met before it, Bravo features a small private parking lot next to the store. The renovation was possibly due to the news that the long-abandoned Fine Fare Supermarket about 3/4 of a mile north at 759 West Side Ave was to be reopened as a completely new Fine Fare. Wondering what Fine Fare looks like? You're in luck! We'll check it out on Friday.

Hi everyone! Thanks for reading The Market Report! We're over 300 posts and 70,000 views , and both of those numbers are going up. Recently we introduced the-market-report.blogspot.com , a new homepage for the blog. Navigation for the blog's special features will now be through that website, as well as featured posts changing frequently. Coming by the end of next month, we'll be introducing the Market Guide, which is a series of annual publications listing supermarkets by county or by banner. The 2018 edition will feature 26 counties, including all 21 in New Jersey, as well as Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond Counties making up the five boroughs of New York City, along with location listings for two banners. Each store's banner, full address, and owner or principal will be listed. Hopefully, the 2019 edition (which will be released early in the year) will include all 28 here as well as some additional ones. Aside from this, normal posting will conti...

One more Snapshot in Vailsburg today, joining Progreso and Regio . Joe's Market is a relatively well-known Caribbean market, whose owner is Korean. This location is at 1011 South Orange Ave and is owned by Chun Kim. There's another Joe's Market at 1239 Springfield Ave in nearby Irvington and a Joe's Fruit Market at 201 Main St in nearby Orange. The Orange location is owned by Ho Jeong Kim, who may be related to Chun Kim. I don't know who owns Irvington.  Groceries, produce, fish, and . . . cosmetics. That makes sense. Unfortunately, I've never been in any of the Joe's stores. They seem to do pretty well, though, and pictures on Google Maps make it seem like the stores are well-stocked and clean.

In the Hudson County group, we saw La Despensa del Ahorro in Union City. It's a two-location chain, with the other location being here at 1081 Elizabeth Ave, Elizabeth, NJ.  Hard to tell how much of this building is actually used for sales floor space. I think this location is smaller than Union City, though. The store was previously called Giant Farm. Despensa got the name horribly wrong on their new awning -- I wonder why they even bothered to keep the Giant name at all!

The former building of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Elizabeth, NJ has been repurposed with a nod to its past. The Eagle Supermarket opened with a freshly-painted eagle decorating the front of the building approximately in the 1980s and takes up the ground floor. You enter on the right side, leading to produce along the right-side wall. The store also has service deli and butcher counters along the back wall, plus a large hot food bar and seating area to the left. It's in a separate room from the main supermarket. Eagle's original owner sold the store to his grandson in 2003, who operated the store with his wife. Maikel Martinez and Ana Lemes then sold the store again in 2006 before opening their new Eagle Supermarket in Roselle . Martinez and Lemes returned to the city of Elizabeth in 2012 with the opening of their Superfood Marketplace on First St. This supermarket is owned by the Universal Food Markets chain, which also owns the store of the same name in Rahwa...

...here's a look at what's coming. (Bad planning on my part, I somehow missed scheduling a post for today.) I love the sign on the right which says "3 Reasons to Buy Cheese Here" but does not list any of said reasons. Tour coming early October. We'll be looking inside this store in early October. Aside from the questionable paint job in this particular case, this store is really nice. Tour coming mid-October. In late October, we'll be touring this store, which is not a Super Fine Fare. Where'd you get that idea? And beginning in mid-November, we'll be attacking another neighborhood just like we did in Hudson County ! Any guesses as to what's coming? If you guess correctly, congratulations! Your prize is the extension of your random supermarket knowledge -- and who doesn't want that?!?!

Just west of yesterday's Progreso Mini Market is the Regio Supermarket at 749 South Orange Ave. Like Progreso, Regio sells Krasdale brand products. The name change has the unfortunate side effect of the complete illegibility of both names at night, when the sign is lit up. The poster in the rightmost window, with two red stripes, advertises Krasdale brand items. According to the exterior sign, this store has produce, meat, deli/sandwiches, and frozen foods. However, the selection of each of those must be pretty small because the store itself is quite small. And for anyone who might question my tag of "Corner Grocers" for this post -- Corner Grocers don't have to be on a corner. Because I said so. So there .

Here's a small market in the Vailsburg neighborhood of the largest city in New Jersey. Newark is an extremely ethnically diverse city, and the majority of Vailsburg's population is African and West Indian. This brightly-lit corner store at 535 South Orange Ave, Newark, NJ sells Krasdale brand products.

Just down the street from Extra Supermarket in Jersey City is a much smaller supermarket. It's part of the Port Washington, NY-based Associated Supermarket Group and runs under the banner Pioneer Supermarkets. As we'll see, Pioneer has obviously been a supermarket for quite some time. The earliest name I know for the store was Green Garden Supermarket, which (like CitiMarket that Extra replaced) was African American-owned, although it was later taken over by Hispanic owners who opened a C-Town in the building. Pioneer has been in business for more than ten years at this point and opened ca. 2006. However, as of writing, the circular still says "Formerly C-Town"! Probably to stay competitive with Extra, Pioneer has a private parking lot; however, it's located across the street. People roll their shopping carts across the crosswalk to the lot! The Pioneer is quite small. Produce and dairy line the right-side wall with meat along the back wall and frozen f...