Special Report: Food Universe Marketplace - Glen Rock, NJ

Food Universe Marketplace
Opened: May 2024

Owner: unknown

Previous Tenants: A&P > A&P Food Bazaar > A&P Sav-A-Center > Food Basics (closed 2015) > Key Food (2015-2016) > SuperFresh (2016-2024)

Cooperative: Key Food Stores

Location: 937 Lincoln Ave, Glen Rock, NJ

Photographed: November 8, 2024

Here in Glen Rock, we return to a store that's just one of those places that changes its name all the time. The building was constructed as an A&P back in the 1960s, and under A&P's ownership cycled through that brand, Food Bazaar, Sav-A-Center, and Food Basics before closing in 2015. It wasn't closed for long, though, and quickly reopened as a Key Food. Key Food did major renovations on the store, converting it from the discount Food Basics format to a full supermarket, and as the renovations finished in 2016 switched to the SuperFresh banner -- a brand the Key Food coop acquired from A&P, too. And in May of this year, ownership changed while it remained within the Key Food cooperative. So now the store is a Food Universe Marketplace, with only minimal changes inside. Outside, we can see a temporary Food Universe banner has been affixed over the SuperFresh sign, while the SuperFresh logo remains on the side of the building and in many places inside the store.

I don't have any interior pictures because there's not much to report -- the inside looks a lot like it did under SuperFresh. But I'll be back if things do change! In the meantime...

• Renovations progress at the Carlstadt Food Bazaar while the Piscataway location has yet to start
• City Supermarkets is almost done renovating their new location in Kenilworth
• Most closed Stop & Shop stores remain vacant, including a location in Edison
• An independent grocer near Paterson has completed a renovation
• Over in Passaic, the exterior of a SuperFresh is getting a major rebuild

• ALDI opens a new store in Wayne
• LIDL opens their first store in the Bronx
• An independent opens near the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan
• Eataly brings their gourmet food hall concept to New Jersey for the first time
• And finally, a Key Food affiliate near Paterson changes ownership and banner (this post)