525 US-46, Belvidere, NJ

Original Tenant: A&P

Address: 525 US-46, Belvidere, NJ

Opened: Between 1988 and 1995

Closed: 2015

Later Tenants: vacant

Photographed: December 2018

We are on route 46 again for the second fully-intact closed A&P along the highway (see Naughright Road in Hackettstown from just a few days ago). This 37,000 square foot store was built at some point between 1988 and 1995 to replace a Centennial store next door, which later became a Rite Aid and then was subdivided. This, like Nykun's Store and our other post today in Belvidere, was a stop on my way out to the Coal Region of northeastern PA back in December 2018, and now I want to write my northeastern PA stores. But sadly, we have to get through plenty more before we can embark on NEPA. The good news is that there's lots of exciting stuff before then!

As we see, the store remains fully intact even all these years after closing. This was rumored to be one of three stores slated to be opened by Supermarkets Plus in 2016, along with Elizabeth and Middlesex. But while those have opened and closed, Belvidere remains untouched, so I assume it is not going to be reopened by the owners of Supermarkets Plus, who currently own Highland's Market in West Milford.

After all these years, as we'll see, there's plenty remaining inside from A&P. This store got the Fresh 2.0 upgrade, albeit a very simple version of it, but the exterior signage was never updated. Above is the entrance foyer, and we have the rather boring exit foyer...

Not all that much to see, which worried me that we wouldn't be able to see inside the store. But not to worry, we can actually see in through the windows to the right of the entrance, where I assume the floral department was.

Well, the lights weren't left on inside but we still very clearly can see the decor and fixtures are all there, and many of them are labeled with orange tags which were likely left over from the fixture auction following the store's closure.

Looks like the Fresh 1.0 remodel was pretty low-budget here, since we see the flooring, registers, and lane markers were not updated.

Looks like we had only four registers here, although I think maybe there was self-checkout.

Looking out into the store which we can't see too well, but we get the idea. Looks like nearly everything is left intact.

One thing that seems to have been sold is the frozen and dairy cases, along with possibly a few rows of grocery aisles. Notice the missing aisles that we can still see marked on the floor.

Beautiful signage, probably installed in the 1990s! And just like Hackettstown, the pylon sign still advertises the A&P Food Market, and once again, we can't really see the store from the highway so there's no indication this store has been closed for almost 7 years.

And a close-up of the A&P logo...

Don't forget to see the remaining grocery store in town here, and tomorrow, we move to the south in Washington (and Hampton) Townships for two former supermarkets and the town's last operating store here on Grocery Archaeology and over on The Market Report!