TOUR: Compare Foods Supermarket - Passaic, NJ

Compare Foods Supermarket

Owner: Teofilo de Jesus
Opened: 2005
Previous Tenants: A&P > Presidente Supermarket
Cooperative: Associated Supermarket Group
Location: 161 Jefferson St, Passaic, NJ
Photographed: July 2020

We're here at Hoover and Jefferson at the first of our two spectacular Passaic stores here on The Market Report. A former centennial A&P, which was later taken over by an independent store, has today been  renovated into a simply gorgeous Compare Foods.

Compare Foods has reversed the store, with the entrance and exit facing the back of the store and the parking lot. The checkouts take up the space once occupied by A&P's backroom, with the former front-end having been expanded into a spacious produce department. You enter on the left side of this back wall to a huge hot food bar, bakery, and deli in the front left corner with butcher and meats along the left side. Produce lines the back wall of the store, with frozen and dairy in the last aisle.

Prior to Compare Foods, this store was an independent store called Presidente Supermarket owned by prominent Passaic businessman Evelio Cuellar, after whom the intersection behind the store was named. In 2005, his son Rafael Cuellar took over the store, but sold it to purchase the ShopRite of Passaic the same year.

Now that we've gotten through the background, let's head in! We start with a very popular hot food bar in the front left corner of the store.

Bakery is just next to hot food with deli along the left side wall of the store.

Most of the signage in the store (especially department signage) is in Spanish, which makes sense given the area's population and the store's target customers.

Butcher counter lining most of the left-side wall of the store with packaged meat and deli facing. This is one of those stores where I actually said "wow" out loud (despite being in the store alone) as I was walking around.

All the fixtures appear to be brand-new throughout the store. Notice too that the ceiling of the store is a solid plaster piece, it's not made with ceiling tiles.

Beginning of the produce department with greens on the left side wall. Notice the former A&P entrance/exit in the front corner visible, now in the back of the store. Let's turn the corner and enter the main produce department...

Again... wow! Just wow! There's grass on the ceiling! Every fixture is brand-new. This is where A&P would have had its front end, with the former front wall of the store being to the left (now the back wall). Produce in the back of the store like this is something I associate with Mayfair Foodtown, but I don't believe this was ever a Foodtown (unless it was between A&P and Presidente).

Moving into the grocery aisles, which are meticulously stocked and feature all-new shelving and flooring.

The renovation here took place between 2018-19, around the same time as the CTown's major renovation just a block and a half south. Coincidence? I think not. It does mean downtown Passaic has two beautiful supermarkets.

Every decor element here is completely custom made and designed for this store.

Frozen lines the right-side outside wall of the store with dairy in the grocery aisle facing.

Interesting that the department signs are mostly in Spanish but the category markers, as seen here, are in English. There's a wide space between the grocery aisles and the checkouts, which suggests to me the store is designed for very high volume despite being pretty small.

There are four registers with health and beauty items on the front wall.

That wraps up our tour of the first of two beautiful chain supermarkets in downtown Passaic! Come back tomorrow for a revisit to the CTown a block and a half south.

Also... A heads up that our Bergen & Passaic group will be ending on the 18th but we will be checking out five more stores on March 19th in the counties, with updates to stores we've already covered and one brand-new store! Then on the 20th, which is a Saturday, we'll jump into Essex County.