TOUR: Weis Markets - Hillsborough, NJ

Weis Markets

Opened: 2013

Previous Tenants: Pathmark

Location: 315 US-206, Hillsborough, NJ

Photographed: July 2020

Pathmark was best known for its large urban locations in lower-income neighborhoods, but there were a few stores scattered throughout the affluent suburbs of New Jersey. Most of those locations closed before the chain went under, such as Livingston where the median household income is roughly $165,000, or here in Hillsborough where the median household income is $105,000. The Hillsborough Pathmark closed around the same time as Livingston, with Weis Markets (a PA-based chain) coming in to the 55,000 square foot space by 2013.

It's been a heck of a long time since we last saw a Weis, which was actually down in Boonsboro, MD in May of 2019. I've always had a fondness for Weis, but I never really caught on to doing much shopping at their stores -- partially because of the locations, but also partially because I found the product mix odd and the prices too high. I kind of took some time off from visiting Weises, not consciously, but came back to a lot of their stores over the summer and late fall/winter of 2020. I must say that I was thoroughly impressed. The product mix, especially in general grocery, has been revised a lot in the New Jersey stores and the pricing is extremely aggressive, even directly comparing to ShopRite's prices on key items printed on their price tags.

And it's always been true that Weis has some very nice stores. We enter here on the left side of the store with pharmacy in an island facing the grocery aisles, and the grand aisle extending to the left of that. Bakery, deli, and prepared foods line the left side of the grand aisle and produce is on the right side. Meat and seafood line the back wall, with frozen and dairy on the right side of the store.

Looking good for sure! Just glancing around the space, I didn't see any clear remnants left from Pathmark, so it seems Weis did a very extensive remodel here. Crazy that this decor is almost 10 years old at this point.

I'm not sure what Pathmark's layout would've been here, but again, it doesn't seem that anything is left.

I really enjoy the bold colors and lettering in this decor package. Weis' newer decor package is also beautiful, however. See the amazing flagship Enola location here.

Service seafood in the back of the grand aisle, with meats lining the back wall.

Health and beauty in the first few aisles, with pharmacy in the front.

Notice all the longer shelf tags; those are the lowered prices in Weis' latest Spend Less campaign. Very good prices too, from my spot-check comparisons to ShopRite and ACME.

Pharmacy in the front of the health and beauty aisles.

Clean, organized, and streamlined grocery aisles. Look how nicely all those shelves are stocked!

Frozen foods in aisle 16, and one side of 17, which is also the last aisle.

Dairy lines the other side.

The only vestige of Pathmark, as far as I can tell, is this front corner with bread and offices in the front corner. Notice that the wall displaying bread doesn't actually go all the way up to the ceiling, leaving the tops of the offices exposed -- a key feature of this era of Pathmark stores.

Weis is our first Hillsborough store, and almost 10 years after its opening it's definitely holding its own against the significant competition to the south along route 206. Take a look at a former supermarket just to the south on 206 here, and tomorrow, we're moving a little farther south from that to the other big-chain supermarket here on The Market Report and a smaller store across the street on The Independent Edition!