TOUR: TJ's Market - Hughesville, PA

TJ's Market
Owner: Tom Montgomery

Opened: before 2006

Cooperative: none
Location: 5464 US-15, Montgomery, PA

Photographed: August 19, 2022

Welcome to Hughesville! This small town of 2100 has a small supermarket just off the main street, but even while I was eating lunch just three blocks from this store I wasn't positive it existed. I had seen a picture of it somewhere, I think, but couldn't find it on a map -- in fact, there wasn't even a Google Maps listing until I made one for this store. I assumed the supermarket had gone out of business. I'm glad to say that isn't the case!

This store is just about 18,000 square feet, some of which on the far right side is taken up by a pharmacy that appears to be an outside business. Produce is in the first aisle, with meats on the back wall, dairy/frozen on the left side of the store, and deli/bakery in the front left corner.

The prescriptions counter is at the back of this section. I believe there is a dedicated entrance and exit to the pharmacy area near there.

Here's a look at the produce department, which is very small but nicely stocked and organized. I particularly like the wagon!

The pharmacy counter opens up to the main supermarket at the back of the produce department. The store's interior is definitely outdated, but well-maintained and very clean.

And a look at the meat department on the back wall.

This store sells Best Yet products from C&S Wholesale Grocers.

Notice this ShopRite-branded endcap, presumably brought in secondhand from some ShopRite, maybe even by the vendor. There's no ShopRite stores within 50 miles of here, so I'm sure nobody notices.

I'm not sure how long TJ's Market has been here, and I'm not sure if there were any previous tenants here. The building has some similarities to a 1950s ACME, but I don't have any confirmation that there ever was an ACME in Hughesville. A Google Maps review notes that the store was originally an A&P, but I don't have details or confirmation that that's true.

I think it's more likely this has been an independent for its whole life.

Frozen foods in aisle 6, with dairy on the outside of aisle 7, the last aisle in the store.

Here's a look down the last aisle of the store towards the back wall.

Deli and bakery in the front corner of the store. While the bakery isn't set up as a service department, they do appear to bake in-store -- and I remember the particularly good cinnamon rolls I got here.

Here's an overview of the deli and bakery area.

Bulk foods are up next on the front end with the registers beyond that. 

This is our last stop along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, and now we're turning north to the much less-developed area north of here starting with Forksville tomorrow on Grocery Archaeology!