ShopRite of Netcong
Owner: Dominick & David Romano / RoNetco Supermarkets
Owner: Dominick & David Romano / RoNetco Supermarkets
Opened: 1965
Previous Tenants: none
Cooperative: Wakefern Food Corp.
Location: 75 US-46, Netcong, NJ
Photographed: May & July 2020
We arrive at one of the most fun ShopRite stores, which is one of the oldest in operation. It moved from just up the street in 1965 to the modern 28,000 square foot facility which stands now. I can't believe the store is still standing -- and was in danger of closing 15 years ago -- but is now being prepared for a major renovation and expansion which had yet to begin at the time of my summer 2020 visit.
Although this store is quite small, it is not the smallest ShopRite. That honor goes to Chatham. But this one has certainly gotten less investment over the years.
The first thing we see in the front left corner is the liquor store tucked away in this corner. Pharmacy is on the left side of the first aisle, with produce filling the rest.
I doubt this store's layout has changed much, if at all, since day one.
This small alcove has dry produce and a random assortment of meat items at the end of the first aisle. Meats continue along the back wall, with bakery/deli in the back right corner. No seafood here.
Notice the awesome terrazzo flooring that extends across the whole store, and they're still in very good condition.
The customer service counter at the front of the second aisle is simply wonderful. It's really clear this store hasn't gotten a lot of significant updates -- maybe one big remodel in the 80s or 90s, which is still visible here.
Lots of vertical space taken advantage of here.
Looks like there may have been a seafood department at one time here, as the now-turned-off neon informs us of the FISH department.
The deli counter is located here but like many supermarkets, RoNetco closed its deli counters at the beginning of the coronavirus. They were also one of the last to bring them back, so my summer 2020 photos of the RoNetco stores will sadly be deli-free.
Aisle 10 is frozen along with some more (plus dairy) in aisle 11...
I'm forgetting exactly how this part of the store is set up but I believe there are a few weird corners, including possibly a little alcove in the front for dairy...? Anyhow, the above sign is interesting because it doesn't quite seem to match the rest of the decor. It's possible it's from some other remodeled store.
I believe this is the 12th aisle, which is not quite as long as the rest of the aisles. Aisle 11 extends a bit farther forward...
Moving onto the front end, we see a small upgrade with self-checkouts added at the far end of the store from the entrance.
I am very glad to have gotten to this store before it's renovated and expanded soon. But you can also be sure I'll be back when it happens!
Tomorrow we head east on 46 to the beginning of route 10, for a look at a current supermarket here on The Market Report and a former one over on Grocery Archaeology!
From the exterior, I thought this was going to look similar to the Old Bridge store, and I'm pleased that it does not!
ReplyDeleteTrue! This store is in better shape than Old Bridge.
DeleteYes, looks much nicer inside than the exterior would lead one to believe. I've passed by the store a few times over the years but have never stopped in mainly for this reason. A friend of mine moved to Netcong about 6 months ago and really enjoys shopping here. She too was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was inside considering its age.
ReplyDeleteCan't find any word on when the expansion is supposed to begin. Things were held up for a while as a few homes on the right side needed to be acquired and torn down. Would be interesting to know how much ShopRite paid for them!
Yeah, I think the renovation has been in the works for a very long time. It's a friend-of-a-friend type of situation, but one of my high school teachers was from this area (and if I'm not mistaken, his parents own or owned Ron's Landmark, the restaurant next door) and even then they were talking about the renovation. I'm sure it'll happen eventually but it's sure not a speedy process.
DeleteYet again, it looks like the only that has changed is the shopping carts! Seems to be the only thing to really get updated in many of these older supermarkets...
ReplyDeleteTrue!
DeleteThanks so much for taking the photographs of this store, as it is an absolute treasure. FYI, the exact opening date for this supermarket was September 15, 1965. By the way, on a wall near where the self-checkout lanes are, there is a photo of the former 125 Main Street location (back when it was a ShopRite).
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I find interesting is that this store "feels" smaller than the Chatham ShopRite, even though that's not the case. Perhaps the reason for this is that the Chatham store has a grand aisle whereas the Netcong ShopRite really does not have one.
If I were to venture a guess, this store's current decor package is from the 1980s. The aisle markers are obviously much newer; on the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the refrigerator and freezer fixtures date back to the store's opening.
The only time I visited this store was last month. At the time, the expansion hadn't yet begun, though the houses had been torn down.
The supermarket aficionado in me thinks that it's quite regrettable that this store is going to get a complete makeover (and expansion). However, from a business point of view, such a move is a no-brainer. Once again, I'm grateful that you were able to photograph this store before the dramatic changes occur.
--A&P Fan
Of course, I'm really glad to have gotten to this store to photograph it first, too! I visited once many years ago and have been wanting to get back since. Worth a trip before construction starts for anyone who hasn't been!
DeleteI visited this store recently and can report that work has yet to begin on the major renovation and expansion (apart from the demolition of the nearby houses, which happened quite a while ago). I am actually thrilled that this is the case, because I love this store just the way it is. I believe that RoNetCo is planning to open a new ShopRite this fall on Route 23 in Sussex Borough; my guess is that the Netcong renovation and expansion is on hold until the Sussex store opens.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely apologize for my rudeness, but as somebody who is familiar with both the Chatham and Netcong ShopRites, I have a hard time believing that Chatham is the smaller of the two supermarkets. Chatham has a "grand aisle" that features a sizable produce section along with a deli, seafood department, and small bakery. In Netcong, produce is confined to Aisle 1 (which is a standard-sized aisle), and I don't believe the store has those aforementioned service departments. Besides its grand aisle, Chatham has fourteen aisles compared to the twelve aisles (plus a liquor department) at Netcong. And the Chatham store has a bigger selection of grocery items (for instance, they have a superior selection of sodas compared to Netcong). If you don't mind me asking, I'm curious as to where you found the square footage information for both the Chatham and Netcong ShopRites. (Though it's certainly possible that I am wrong in thinking that the Chatham ShopRite is the bigger supermarket, it seems that the Chatham location is a good 5,000 square feet larger than the Netcong store.)
--A&P Fan
My apologies for failing to do this before I wrote the above post, but after a simple Google search, I see that the 28,000 square footage figure for the Netcong ShopRite was ascertained from the 2006 Progressive Grocer article (to which you linked). When I did a simple Google search pertaining to the Chatham ShopRite's square footage, I did not find anything aside from information in blog posts which you wrote.
DeleteSometimes, even reliable sources such as Progressive Grocer are wrong. (For instance, I recall articles on Newspapers.com discussing a particular supermarket's closing. In these articles, a mention would be made that the store opened on such-and-such date. Yet when I researched the matter for myself, I found old newspaper articles or advertisements that stated a different opening date.) Thus, I am wondering if either Progressive Grocer or your source for the Chatham ShopRite's square footage was mistaken.
On a different matter, you mentioned that the Netcong ShopRite maybe received one big remodel in the 80s or 90s, and you pointed out the now-turned-off neon signs. You'll be interested to read the following paragraph, taken from an article in the December 7, 1987 edition of the Daily Record:
"Ronetco [sic] is spending between $500,000 and $600,000 to renovate its Netcong store. The remodeling will give the ShopRite a pharmacy department, new cases and wider aisles in the products section and an in-store bakery. Frozen food will be displayed in new energy efficient cases with doors, as will the meat department. The fish department will get a bubbling lobster tank and offer pre-seasoned or prepared fish entrees to take home in microwave trays."
If you still subscribe to Newspapers.com, you can read the entire article, which appeared on the first page of that day's business section. The article also discusses changes at the Mansfield, Succasunna, and Newton ShopRites.
--A&P Fan
Thanks for all your comments! Always interested to hear what you have to say.
DeleteAs for the square footage, I mostly measure using the Measure Distance tool on Google Maps. It's not an exact number because it's sometimes hard to tell the actual footprint of the building (with things like overhangs and facades) but Chatham measures around 25,000 on the smaller end to just over 27,000 on the larger end, depending on what exactly of it is building and what is overhang/awning/facade/etc. The Netcong ShopRite, being basically a big box, is easier to measure and comes in at around 28,800 square feet. The one thing that I don't know for certain -- which could create a size difference between the two stores -- is whether either or both have basements, thus relocating some of the backroom space to a lower level.
Zachary, I wish you a very happy New Year!
DeleteI apologize for this very belated response, but I am pretty sure that the Chatham ShopRite does indeed have a basement. The shopping center in which that ShopRite is located--the Hickory Square Shopping Center--is a quite large, with one strip of storefronts facing Green Village Road, a second strip facing Shunpike Road, and a third strip facing Southern Boulevard. The biggest of the three strips--and the strip where the ShopRite's storefront is located--is the one facing Shunpike Road. That particular strip is definitely at a higher elevation than the other two strips. Furthermore, inside the supermarket, there is a staircase leading downstairs (located not too far away from the checkout lane that is furthest from the entrance). All this information leads me to believe that some of the Chatham ShopRite's backroom space is located on a lower level. I do not know whether the Netcong ShopRite has a basement, but I suspect that it does not have one.
Thank you for explaining out you ascertain a particular store's square footage. That is really fascinating, as is your mention of the fact that the existence of a basement would create a size difference which one would be unable to know just by using the Measure Distance tool on Google Maps. But as a fun experiment, I would challenge you or anybody else to make three or four full grocery shopping trips (i.e., purchase a full week's worth of groceries and go through all the store's aisles) in the Netcong ShopRite and another three or four such trips at the Chatham ShopRite. I would be very surprised if--after doing all that--one did not think that the space devoted to merchandise in the Chatham location was larger than the selling space inside the Netcong store.
Before I conclude, I can report that the expansion of the Netcong ShopRite still has yet to begin. Although I am thankful, I do wonder what is causing the delay. Perhaps some unforeseen environmental issue is delaying the expansion, but I honestly have no idea.
--A&P Fan