TOUR: Tropical Supermarket - Dunellen, NJ

Tropical Supermarket

Owner: Ricardo Hernandez

Opened: ca. 2010

Previous Tenants: CVS (1990s-2008)

Cooperative: Key Food Stores

Location: 446 North Ave, Dunellen, NJ

Photographed: July 2020

The borough of Dunellen, with a population just over 7,000, is a pretty small town, but it does have a supermarket in its downtown. This Tropical Supermarket opened between 2008 and 2012 in a 9600 square foot former CVS, which relocated to route 22 in Green Brook in 2008. The ShopRite in town closed probably in the 80s, and part of it was taken over by a short-lived greengrocer shop, but otherwise Tropical is the only game in town. Of course, the ACME in Middlesex is just about half a mile away.

We've seen quite a few of these Tropical locations around the state, and I must say they've been consistently impressive. This one was no different -- a small but well-appointed store with a good selection of almost everything, good fresh products, and good prices. Produce lines this side (the left wall) of the store, with meats and a service butcher on the back wall. Frozen and dairy line the last aisle, with a service deli in the front right corner.

Looking good! There isn't much left over from CVS on the inside, but the mirror lining the back wall is the one thing -- something we also saw at the Key Food in Norwalk, making me think that was a drugstore of the same era as this CVS. Tropical Supermarkets joined Key Food around 2018.

Looking up towards the front of the store. This first aisle actually feels pretty spacious, but the rest of the store is rather cramped (and rightfully so, since they pack so much into this very small space).

Meats on the back wall. I believe that some or all of the fixtures were brought in secondhand when Tropical opened, since they look much older than 2008.

Very substantial service butcher on the back wall.

Absolutely packed international aisle.

If you zoom in, it looks like there may have been a seafood department here on the back wall next to the butcher, that has been removed. They've done a good job of hiding it with other stock, though.

It seems as though Tropical may have expanded from their normal nonfoods selection to include a little more to fill some of the need that CVS left.

Dairy and frozen in the last aisle. Again, these fixtures seem a bit older than the store's actual age, but they do all seem to match.

Large deli/bakery in the front corner. It's looking very good! I'm also assuming they do a pretty good business in the deli, especially because of the giant SUBS signs outside.

Is that a CVS relic in the top left corner, the pharmacy logo? Or is that a sign installed by Tropical to direct people to the health and beauty section around the corner from the rolls? Anyway, that "delicatessen" sign is secondhand from some NYC Food Emporium (though I think it was installed before Key Food bought The Food Emporium and then later Tropical joined Key Food...). But that wraps up our look at this Tropical Supermarket, which unfortunately is our last in the chain. There are two more in Union City which we sadly will not be touring (yet?). We have a look at the former supermarket in town today here, and tomorrow, we're heading just to the east for two stores at the Piscataway/South Plainfield border, one here and one on The Independent Edition!