The Market Report

Thomas' Foodtown Owner: Tom Baseski Opened:  2006-2020 Previous Tenants:  ACME Markets (ca. 1960-1995) > Insalaco's (1995-1998) > Thomas' Family Markets (1998-2006) Later Tenants:  Key Food Supermarkets (2020- ) Cooperative:  Allegiance Retail Services Location:  1061 N Church St, Hazleton, PA Photographed:  November 19, 2019 We're here in the far northern part of Hazleton to tour the Foodtown of Hazleton! The roughly 22,000 square foot store was built as part of a combination indoor mall/strip mall just outside the city by ACME Markets in the 1960s before closing in 1995 and being sold to Insalaco's. Insalaco's closed in 1998, when Thomas' Family Markets moved in. In 2006, the store became a Foodtown, although ownership didn't change. Foodtown then closed in 2020, with Key Food moving in subsequently. Key Food now also has a second location in Hazleton, a Food Universe Marketplace in a former Save-A-Lot . That store was also built as an ACME. I...

Vine Farmers Market Owner: Jose Suentos Opened:  2013 Cooperative:  none Location:  930 N Vine St, Hazleton, PA Photographed:  December 22, 2018 Hazleton has a lot of independent Hispanic-focused grocers, but most are pretty small . Maybe that's why the Vine Farmers Market in northern Hazleton advertises itself as The Big Market. Vine Farmers Market takes up the basement of what likely was originally an industrial building at North Vine and 20th Streets. The focus here is produce, but there's also a butcher shop, seafood, and plenty of groceries. When we're inside, although the store is pretty large at somewhere around 15,000 square feet (compared to the other smaller Latin American stores in town), you can definitely tell you're in a basement. There are a few grocery aisles, plus a butcher shop/seafood counter as seen below, and then in the back we have a pretty large produce department including a walk-in refrigerator room for refrigerated produce and wholesale, w...

Tarone's Super Market Owner: Robert Tarone Opened:  1941 Cooperative:  none Location:  819 Alter St, Hazleton, PA Photographed:  December 22, 2018 How many grocery stores have you seen that have been continuously operating for over 80 years? Not too many, and Tarone's Super Market has even stayed within the Tarone family during that time. The 3600 square foot store was built in 1941 and still has its distinct 1940s character, closely resembling ACME stores of that time and others, especially in the ceramic tiling on the front. I'm not sure if it's always been orange, but the store certainly proudly displays its bright orange and green color scheme these days! The store is not really in a commercial district, it's just in a residential neighborhood north of downtown, but enough people seem to still travel to get to it that it's been in business for this long. I love the painted signage on the storefront! Heading in, we see a very classic grocery store with littl...

Boyer's Food Markets Owner: Dean Walker Opened:  early 2000s Previous Tenants:  Sunshine Market (closed 1996) > Gerrity's ShurSave (1996-early 2000s) Location:  999 W 15th St, Hazleton, PA Photographed:  December 22, 2018 It's time for another Boyer's, this one in more of an urban location than they typically are! With a population of 29,000, Hazleton isn't a major city but it's definitely a sizeable town. This store also has some interesting history, having been built as an outpost of the local Sunshine Market chain, then closed by 1996 when it became a Gerrity's, which in turn appears to have sold the store to Boyer's in the mid 2000s. It's certainly a unique building, which I believe is thanks to Sunshine. The store has very obviously been expanded many times, bringing it to its current 26,000 square feet from the original 10,500 square foot space. In the picture above, it's not hard to tell where the store was expanded out to the right. T...