TOUR: Jim Thorpe Market - Jim Thorpe, PA

Jim Thorpe Market

Owner: Frank Paston

Opened: 1999

Cooperative: ShurSave
Location: 1 River St, Jim Thorpe, PA

Photographed: December 22, 2018

Our next stop, just north along the Lehigh River from Lehighton, is Jim Thorpe! The town of 4500 was previously named Mauch Chunk before being renamed in 1954 after the Olympic athlete. In the late 1960s or early 1970s, ACME constructed a roughly 11,000 square foot supermarket on the riverfront facing the train tracks in Jim Thorpe, which was ultimately closed and sold to Insalaco's in the early 1990s. When Insalaco's went under, Jim Thorpe Market, an independent ShurSave operator, opened up in 1999 and expanded the store to its present 24,000 square feet.

The renovation was extensive, but at certain angles you can still see the bones of the pitched-roof ACME behind the newer facade. On the left side of the store, in fact, you can see the ACME's original side wall.

So let's head inside! You enter in the front left corner of the store to the produce department, with the registers along the left side wall of the store, I believe, although my memory of the layout is rather fuzzy given I took these pictures almost five years ago now. Produce is on the front wall, and on the right-side wall is deli/bakery and natural foods, with meat on the back wall and dairy/frozen on the left side.

The whole store is train-themed, because of Jim Thorpe's connection to the railroad (both current and historical) and the store's proximity to the railroad tracks. It's already been established that I love trains and railroads and strongly support the railroad-themed department names... mostly.

As we can see, Jim Thorpe Market is pretty recently renovated, although the bones of the store are definitely older. The pitched-roof isn't exposed anymore inside, but the ceiling is lower in the expansion areas than in the original store.

Here's a look at the deli department, which extends out from the produce department on the right side wall. The railroad yards and present-day terminus of the scenic railroad is on the other side of the river from this store, directly across.

Bakery is at the back of the first aisle, behind deli. It doesn't so much look like it in the below picture, but there is an extensive in-store bakery and service counter.

And behind bakery is the natural and organic department.

Looking out from the organic/natural area down the first aisle back towards produce and the entrance.

Worth noting that ShurSave, this store's cooperative, is supplied by C&S and uses Best Yet and Full Circle storebrand products. ShurSave most recently had a major loss when Gerrity's left to join Wakefern, eliminating almost half of their rapidly-dwindling store base. The ShurSaves I've been in have by and large been pleasant and well-run, but that seems to be more a testament to the independent store owners' skill than the cooperative's strength.

Meats on the back wall...

...and the grocery aisles opposite them. I believe the grocery aisles run front to back more or less in what was the original ACME building.

The one train-related department name I don't think works is Dairysiding. I'm not sure exactly what that means and I can't figure out why there's no space.

But I appreciate the commitment to the theme regardless.

Especially since just beyond Dairysiding is The Dairy Depot, which is so much better. Why have both?

Frozen foods are in the back left corner of the store, behind the registers.

There's a lot of local personality and history in this store, including lots of framed old photographs around the store. They're mostly of the town and local railroad sights, which I enjoyed.

And that about wraps up our look at the Jim Thorpe Market! I believe there are only four registers, which are located in part of the expansion out the left side of the store.

We now have a departure from the Lehigh River, which we've been following through the last few towns. We're going to turn west along the Delaware & Lackawanna tracks to the heart of the Coal Region for a look at Lansford tomorrow on The Market Report!