The Market Report

First off, I've fixed yesterday's post with the video of the ribbon cutting embedded. Now for today's snapshot! I sometimes firmly believe I am going crazy. I know for a fact I've photographed the Super Supermarket on 1st Ave (albeit just a quick snapshot) and I'm nearly certain it was even up on Flickr. But now I can't find those pictures anywhere and I don't have it listed on my master spreadsheet. Anyhow, luckily I have other Elizabeth content that I can swap in for today! This grocery store, at 124 W Jersey St, is in that gray space between supermarket and bodega. It's small but seems to have a pretty solid lineup of departments (grocery, deli, meat, frozen, dairy, produce). I've never been inside so I couldn't categorize it for sure. Photographed January 2019

Yes, this is the last day of the Elizabeth Food Bazaar! Today we'll be seeing some coverage of the grand opening celebration, which really was a big party. The Market Report was on-site for the opening speeches as well (although I got stuck in traffic on the way and was almost late), then we took a look around the store, even getting the chance to speak with Bogopa Service Corp's president and CEO, Spencer An. Let's begin with some photos of the festivities. As you can see here, the place was packed. All the important people were there, but a lot of people just came for the free food and giveaways. I got a free reusable bag filled with Bogopa brand products just for being one of the first 1000 shoppers. Inside, the store was packed and the atmosphere was just one big party. Tables were set up along the front end where employees served free fruit, cheese, fresh-baked breads and muffins from the store's bakery department, and beverages. It's a ...

And now for Part 2 of the store tour, which consists of the store tour itself. (See yesterday's photos from the opening day here .) We're here in the parking lot, which is really on the side of the store. The property's address is on Elmora Ave, so the property is narrow and extremely deep. Grand Street runs along what's technically the side of the property, but the store's front end faces Grand. So when I describe the layout, it'll be relative to Grand, not Elmora. For folks not familiar with Elizabeth, this store is located in the Elmora neighborhood. (Side note, both my parents grew up shopping at this store when it was a Pathmark.) Elmora Avenue is a pretty busy -- and ridiculously narrow -- business district, with a lot of small stores and restaurants. Diagonally across Elmora Ave from this store is the Elmora Farmers Market . This is the entrance to the store, and to enter you make a 90-degree turn at the rugs (I think that's what they ar...