Key Food Marketplace
Owner: Junior Dabashi
Today's store is one with quite a bit of history in the last few decades! The 22,000 square foot store was built as a Grand Union in approximately the 1970s, then closed in 2001 with the rest of the chain. This location was purchased by C&S Wholesale Grocers, who kept the store open under the Grand Union Family Markets banner. In 2010, the store was sold to a Key Food owner, who operated the store under the name Milford Farms but did not actually ever change the sign. Under GUFM and then Milford Farms, the store pretty seriously deteriorated. By 2013, the store had been sold within Key Food to the Dabashi family, who also own a similar former Grand Union store in Beacon, NY and another one (now Stop & Shop) in Mahopac. These days, they also own Mahopac's Red Mills Market. They also seem to be related to the owners of a few Brooklyn supermarkets.
When Dabashi purchased the store, they made some major improvements to the store, starting with the signage outside! Inside, Grand Union's layout (mostly) and wood paneling remains, but much of the signage has been updated too. Fixtures and flooring were updated, too. We enter to Grand Union's former produce department in the front right corner, which Key Food has expanded into all of the first aisle. Deli and meat are on the back wall, with dairy and frozen on the left side.
I would assume a grocery aisle or two were taken out to accommodate the store's much larger, more spacious produce department than I would expect from a Grand Union of this age.
Although these aisle markers are new, I'm guessing they're representing where the grocery aisles used to begin.
We can see here that the Grand Union signage has been covered with a new Key Food sign, but the frame remains. Honestly, I really like the way this store looks! Also notice that most of the important stuff (like flooring and fixtures) is all new.
Meats are on the back wall. Again, we have Grand Union wood paneling everywhere but I think it looks good, actually, and its age isn't noticeable.
It looks like the perimeter flooring has been replaced, but the aisles' floor tiles haven't been. The shelving definitely has, though, and it looks very new.
This was the first Key Food in Pennsylvania, and there have been a few more to open since.
Here we can see evidence of changes going on, with what looks like support columns in the last part of the renovation. The middle of this aisle is also filled with clearance merchandise. Since I was in this store four years ago, I would assume any of these last odds and ends of the renovation have been tied up.
Dairy and frozen in all-new fixtures in the last aisle. I remember hearing somewhere that at the end, Milford Farms didn't even have working freezers.
And the classic Grand Union front-end mostly intact too!
Owner: Junior Dabashi
Opened: 2013
Previous Tenants: Grand Union (closed 2001) > Grand Union Family Markets (2001-2010) > Milford Farms (2010-2013)
Cooperative: Key Food Stores
Location: 501 W Harford St, Milford, PA
Photographed: December 18, 2019
That's all for this store, which is looking very nice these days. Another Grand Union was located just five miles away, but unfortunately hasn't been so lucky to get a nice renovation with a new supermarket like this one. We'll be taking a look at that on Grocery Archaeology tomorrow!
You don't see too many supermarkets using those lower, older style carts anymore
ReplyDeleteTrue -- I didn't even think of that until you brought it up. They could be leftover and refurbished Grand Union carts -- they don't look that old.
DeleteThey don't strike me as ex-Grand Union units; their deep-basket carts typically never had anti-theft frames (except for some really old Unarco units), which seemed to be fairly popular with businesses in the Tri-state area here in the Northeast (NY/NJ/PA). While they look like late-stage A&P carts, they do not appear to be refurbished (the warning labels on the child seats put them at being no older than 2012, which most likely means they were bought around when the Dabashi family took over operations). They actually used to have a set of late-stage all-red Technibilt 3440 carts when it was still Grand Union.
DeleteAlso, didn't most of the A&P ones have A & P cut into that small metal section that on this one is just solid grey (by the rear wheels)?
DeleteYes, for the older ones. Newer ones did not have the embossing. They also had matching grey trim pieces instead of the blue ones shown here for all A&P Technibilt units from the 2000s-2010s.
DeleteIt's nice to see the bones of the Grand Union were kept and tastefully modernized by Key Foods. I've never been to a Grand Union while they were open, but I've always thought these 1970's/early 1980's era GU stores just looked and felt very quaint with all the wood paneling decor.
ReplyDeleteWe used to shop at the Point Pleasant NJ store somewhat often when I was a kid. I always loved the stained glass light box over the registers.
DeleteThat particular store moved to the other end of the shopping center after Jamesway closed, and became a Stop & Shop. The store still looks an awful lot like the Grand Union did.
Agreed! It's a great blend between older and newer.
DeleteSome of the GU stores of that age had just a U shaped area for produce (basically where you now see flowers and the wall with the fruits & veggies sign - that may even be from either GU or the Family Markets days).
ReplyDeleteNot certain what else was where - I can remember one store of that era having dairy down the wall that now says fresh produce, but not sure if all of them did. Seems some did have it on the other side where the current dairy is here, though much of the frozen was more open coffin type coolers, still in that same area as I remember (of course, it has been 20+ years for many of them, so memories subject to be not fully correct ;).
Dairy was definitely where produce is now! I can't find it this second but there is a picture out there, I believe from when this store was being renovated by the Dabashis, that clearly showed the produce department where it is now with the original Grand Union Date-Line Dairy sign where the produce sign is now. Here's a mediocre picture from Yelp showing what I assume is a GUFM-era sign for dairy... https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/key-food-marketplace-milford?select=Z-QBBY1W0wSQajDdVIUlFw
DeleteYou shouldn't have assumed that the clearance and stuff was going anywhere, since here we are in November 2024 and those containers are still around.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, many of the items are simply price stickered over the barcode (but not all), which may actually be preventing their sale (for instance, the large quantity of Axe items marked down to $4 and change, which would have been quite cheap using the $7.50/2 Digital Coupon that they had, but it seemed unlikely that would work without having them scanned).
Also seemed to be quite a few marked down items in that back "corner" section as well, with a very small section of HABA up front by the registers.
Not sure if they had alcohol when you were there, but that is what is "behind" the dairy wall, which is why that back corner exists, so that you can only access it from the front. That is likely new(ish) since I know PA didn't always allow for that to be sold in "regular" stores, and still has somewhat unusual rules for it even now.
Oh, that's interesting. Thanks for the details here!
Delete