TOUR: Price Rite Marketplace - Springfield, MA

Price Rite Marketplace of Springfield

Opened: ca. late 1990s

Previous Tenants: Mott's ShopRite (open bet. 1970 & 1976, closed ca. late 1990s)

Location: 633 Boston Rd, Springfield, MA

Photographed: November 20, 2023

Welcome to our final Springfield store! As I've said, there's a lot in and around Springfield we're not seeing, but this is just the selection of stores I've been able to actually get to. Outside of the city about four miles from downtown, we have this roughly 40,000 square foot Price Rite. The building dates back to roughly the 1960s and is paired with a former department store.

While I'm not sure about the early days here, we do know from Groceteria that this store was a Mott's ShopRite by 1976, which it presumably stayed as until Mott's went under in the late 1990s. Mott's ShopRite was the only ShopRite operator in Massachusetts, and had a run of a few decades in the state. By the time the chain went under, many of the stores had been acquired by Wakefern corporate (or, in Connecticut, other members), and quite a few of the smaller and older stores like this one were converted into Price Rite discount stores. For that reason, though, many Price Rite stores are larger than the typical discount supermarket. This one, at 40,000 square feet, is more than double the size of a competing ALDI just east on Boston Road.

It appears that Price Rite has expanded into a neighboring storefront for the produce and meat departments, then soda and dairy are on the back wall. Frozen is on the far right side and the baked goods are in the front right corner.

It seemed that this Price Rite was pretty popular, based on my visit. I long wondered why ShopRite didn't have any Massachusetts presence (these days they have a store just 10 miles south in Enfield), and I was surprised to hear that Mott's once was in this part of the state. I suppose it's a difficult part of the state to break into, with this being local favorite Big Y's home base. Wakefern has closed quite a few Price Rite stores in Massachusetts, but has also added four in the form of Madison Foods, a Save-A-Lot operator that joined Wakefern and now runs Price Rite stores in Boston and Brockton.

This is a rather standard Price Rite with the latest decor package. Most Price Rites look roughly the same, and the vast majority are corporately-owned by Wakefern. In fact, only six aren't (the four Madison stores and two Inserra-owned stores in northern NJ).

A few of the Price Rite stores have a deli, but this one doesn't have any service departments.

This Price Rite feels quite large and spacious. The expansion definitely feels newer than the rest of the store, and it's a pleasant but definitely no-frills environment.

The Drop Zone is the area for sale items between produce and the grocery aisles.

Heading into the main supermarket, we see it has a drop ceiling...

And on the back wall...

Price Rite has shifted in recent years away from their own brand of products, called just Price Rite, and has added a lot of the Bowl & Basket items along with Wholesome Pantry. They're typically priced very low. There are still a few Price Rite items around, though.

Price Rite also might have one or a few name brand selections of each product. Other times, it's just the storebrand.

Price Rite also tends to have a larger selection of international foods, which we can see below, than other discount grocery stores. The vast majority of those are name brands.

Dairy on the back wall.

I definitely got an old-supermarket feeling from this building, even though it's pretty recently redone.

There's of course no bakery department, but baked goods are in the front corner.

This also isn't the first Price Rite we've seen located in a former Mott's.

That's all for this store, and all for Springfield! We have a quick stop just outside of the city tomorrow, and then it's on to the next group of stores!