Update: Save-A-Lot - Orange, NJ

Save-A-Lot
Owner: unknown

Opened: 2018

Previous Tenants: none

Location: 200 Central Ave, City of Orange, NJ

Photographed: June 22, 2023

We return to the Save-A-Lot in Orange (where we first stopped about two years ago) to see the inside, and to check out how the store is doing, five years into its life. Save-A-Lot doesn't have a lot of presence in northern New Jersey, and this store was one of several that made up their push into this part of the state. Shortly thereafter, as Save-A-Lot transitioned to a wholesaler from a retailer, the store was sold although I'm not sure who the buyer was. Save-A-Lot no longer owns the store, but instead acts as the franchisor to whoever owns it now.

The store is quite plain if fairly modern and attractive. I do like this decor setup, although I wish it had a little more going for it (like some food pictures or something). And although the produce department is fairly well-stocked, it doesn't have a very large selection and the produce did not look good. This store seems to be extremely low-volume and probably has almost no turnover, so that's not a good sign for its health. In fact, the store looked not unlike a store preparing to close.

In fact, there's not much food in the store at all, especially the perimeter. The meat and cold cuts cases were nearly empty, or at least very sparsely stocked.

Dairy is more of the same, with plenty of cardboard but not much actual food.

And in the grocery aisles, stock is extremely light with not much to choose from to begin with.

I've been to a few Save-A-Lots lately, and despite everything the chain has said, I'm finding them just as bad as ever. The reinvention of the chain seems limited to a slightly darker color scheme and not much else.

The frozen area felt enormous, partially because of the low freezer cases and partially because there's no stock in any of them.

My guess is that this store is really struggling in this location. Under half a mile east on Central Avenue is an Extra Supermarket, a Bravo is just over half a mile west, and around 3/4 of a mile northeast is a ShopRite (soon to be replaced with a new store on the same property). Those stores may be taking their toll on this location, or perhaps it's just not resonating with customers. There were two other customers in the store at the time of my visit, while the Extra down the street had a lot of traffic in and out.

I mean, look at this. There's almost nothing here to buy.

And if we look across the store, there's a lot of space and a lot of empty areas on the shelves.

Well, it really doesn't look like Save-A-Lot is a resounding success in Orange, and in fact, this store resembles stores I've seen that are approaching their permanent closure. We'll have to see if that's what ultimately happens here, or if it'll keep chugging along as it has.