Update: Ashley Marketplace - South Orange, NJ

Ashley Marketplace
Opened: 2013
Owner: Cheol Kim
Previous Tenants: Village Super Market > ShopRite > Village Super Market > Garden of Eden Marketplace
Cooperative: Krasdale Foods
Location: 1 South Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ

Photographed: October 27, 2024

We're back at the Ashley Marketplace in downtown South Orange, which we last visited in the summer of 2022. Once a beautiful gourmet market, the store has noticeably declined even further from that 2022 update and appears to be close to closing. On my most recent visit last weekend, stock was very thin throughout the store, although there were some small improvements -- namely, the empty former seafood counter has been removed and one small piece of it is now next to the meat department. Both seafood and meat were pretty fully stocked, although several refrigerators around the store are filled with random products. The grocery shelving was about 50% stocked, and much of the space was taken up by more mainstream products the store never carried in the past. In several aisles, Krasdale paper goods seem to be used as a space filler. And although the sun glare makes it a little difficult to see in these outside pictures, there are now space available banners mounted on the front of the building. The restaurant above Ashley has closed, and the entire building is now up for sale or lease. Ashley appears to be around 14,000 square feet, plus a basement, and the restaurant above the supermarket (which, incidentally, was previously called Above) is around 10,000 square feet. Online, the space is being advertised as a "former grocer," which to me is pretty solid evidence that Ashley's closure is impending.

Inside, there are some pretty obvious signs the store is preparing to go out of business, not least this produce case which was completely empty except for one pumpkin.

And just across from that, what was once a wall of gluten free and vegan specialty items is now the home of an assortment of paper goods. The Krasdale brand is a relatively new addition to this store, and the famously low-end brand was never sold in this store prior to around a year ago.

I hate to see any supermarket close, but the slow decline here at Ashley has been particularly sad because it was once a top-notch gourmet market. It'll be interesting to see if another grocer moves into the space. The owner of this store owns a second location, Aspen Marketplace in Hoboken, which I visited once in 2021 and haven't returned to since, so I don't know if it's in the same shape (but from some searching online, it seems to be just fine). Also, check out this weekend's other posts!

• Amazon Fresh's new store in Lodi, NJ
• A new gourmet market near Hudson Yards in Manhattan
• A CVS-turned-supermarket right on the NJ/NY border
• Ongoing work at two different Food Bazaars
• Renovations finished at the ACME in Saddle Brook and the ShopRite in Rochelle Park
• The end appears to be near for South Orange's gourmet market (this post)