Stop & Shop
Opened: 2001
Welcome to the Brick, NJ Stop & Shop! This is one of the relatively few New Jersey Stop & Shops I hadn't photographed until recently, and I visited at the end of February to find (unexpectedly) the store celebrating its grand reopening. Stop & Shop doesn't seem to announce grand reopenings on social media, so I wasn't aware this store had been remodeled.
The Jersey Shore Stop & Shops seem to generally do really well. In this area, the primary competitor is Saker ShopRites, which is a strong operator with large, generally well-run stores. But there's definitely room for a second mainstream supermarket in the area, and in many northern shore towns, that's Stop & Shop. (In the southern part of the shore, ACME is the primary ShopRite competitor, and those ShopRite stores are generally owned by Village Super Market rather than Saker.) This Brick store looks like a mid- to late-00s new-build, but it's actually a former Grand Union that opened around 1980, becoming a Stop & Shop in 2001. In 2010-11, the store was renovated and expanded from its original 38,000 square feet to its present 55,000 square feet. What's particularly interesting is that its renovation happened right around the time Chelmsford was constructed. But during the renovation, Brick got different exterior and interior designs from Chelmsford, which got a bizarre combination of the early-00s exterior look with the mid-2010s interior look. This store previously had the yellow version of the yellow and purple decor. (There was also a white version.)
This winter, the store received a renovation to the latest Stop & Shop decor package, which I honestly really like. It's sharp and modern, and for once, not completely monochromatic. What impressed me more is that Stop & Shop is clearly serious about improving the store operations, as this one was clearly better-run than the majority of stores I'd been seeing. Price investments seem to be coming to the chain, and lower prices are noticeable. I've also seen better produce, better-stocked shelves across the store, and better staffing than I had in the past.
As you can see, this Brick store is impeccable. It seems to do a very good volume, although Placer.ai says its volume is less than half of the nearby ShopRite (which I've photographed but not yet posted). Brick also has a specialty market called Livoti's, along with a LIDL and an ALDI.
This decor package is slowly making its way through the chain, and we first saw it in the brand-new Allston Yards store in Boston, then in the new Acton store. A handful of the Jersey Shore stores have it, but I believe the majority of renovated North and Central Jersey stores have the very gray decor that came a bit before this one. (A different and nicer but still monochromatic decor package is used for the renovated NYC stores.)
You can see that the decor package here is a bit less deluxe than, say, Allston Yards, such as the icon signs not being lit, or some of the department signage being scaled down to accommodate the store's lower ceilings -- a side effect of its past as a Grand Union.
The layout is essentially a mirror image of Chelmsford, which I linked above. Produce is in the front-right corner with deli and prepared foods in the back right corner. Meat and seafood are on the back wall, with dairy, frozen, and HABA on the left side. Bakery and pharmacy are in the front-left corner.
Unlike Chelmsford, though, there actually are prepared foods here. (Chelmsford had most of that department filled with tortilla chips.) Plus, there's a service seafood counter, although a small one. It looks like there always has been, too, which is a good sign for this store's health.
I've been to a handful of other Stop & Shop stores lately, and have seen drastically better store conditions than I was seeing a year ago. I don't know if it's just the change in management -- the previous president, who ran the chain from 2018 to 2024, abruptly retired and was replaced by a corporate Ahold Delhaize person -- but Stop & Shop seems to be in much better shape than even a couple months ago. There are still a few stores that seem to be poor performers, but the vast majority seem healthier and better run these days.
Plus, Stop & Shop seems to be on a mission to remodel all of the remaining stores that haven't gotten upgrades yet.
Looking across the back wall, back towards the grand aisle on the right side...
It looks like the majority of fixtures were just painted, not replaced, in the renovation, which is logical given that many of them were probably new when the store was expanded. Everything in the store looks and feels pretty new, even though things like the flooring, ceiling, and lighting weren't changed.
All new bakery fixtures, though, and looking good. Notice that some of the circular department icons are lit up (pharmacy) but others are not (bakery).
A look across the front-end.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the store prior to the renovation, except for some terrible drive-by photos of the exterior from back in 2021.
Here you can see the old logo on the storefront. I like the new paint job on the outside. I was never sold on the purple scheme, but the new colors look sharp and modern.
That's about all I have for this Stop & Shop, but there's a couple more posts for this weekend! Check out the full list below.
Owner: Ahold Delhaize
Previous Tenants: Grand Union (ca. 1980-2001)
Cooperative: none
Location: 55 Brick Blvd, Brick, NJ
Photographed: September 8, 2021 and February 28, 2025
Here's a look at this weekend's other posts!
Ooh, a store I know about!
ReplyDeleteThis store has a very loyal customer base, many of whom visit from the very close Holiday City and Lions Head retirement communities. The Brick ShopRite has always been insanely busy, and has one of the worst parking lots known to mankind. Even after its own remodel, the ShopRite feels small, especially compared to two nearby Saker stores, Toms River Rt 37 and Wall Township. Fischer Blvd might be around the same size as Brick.
I grew up on the other side of Brick, and my mom would rather have a root canal than deal with the Brick ShopRite.
I seem to remember that issue with that particular ShopRite as well (the difficulty of the parking lot) - that may be one reason I'm not 100% sure I ever went in it.
DeleteThe second reason being that when we were down in NJ back then, there always were several stores to go to, and since we have ShopRite up here it was always the last choice (that is, go to all the others that we DON'T have first).
I think I remember the store looking much like a standard Grand Union, with the arched front windows (for example, see Toms River soon to be empty Big Lots).
Mike - yeah, I was thinking I'd probably hear from you when I post this one! My family member who lives in Brick has all but stopped shopping at ShopRite for all the reasons you're talking about.
DeleteBillyGr - you're right, here's a (terrible) view from Street View on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/DRoM5PoXMRUVYvTp6
The one thing I always had to chuckle about with the purple scheme was that we intended it to be so much more than it turned out to be. We had a big rollout and all that, and it kinda just went pfft.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading that the intention with the purple color and fruit-slice logo was intended to be in the same vein as Target's red and bullseye logo, but that it never quite caught on the same way. It had the potential to be really good branding, but I think a key problem was that there was no real meaning (that the average customer could figure out) to the fruit-slice logo, especially coming from the original traffic light logo.
DeleteI've gone on and on about the rebranding of S&S with the fruit bowl logo. It was clear from the start they were trying to capture Target's magic with the iconic red bullseye. It didn't work, and couldn't ever work, because the fruit bowl made absolutely no sense. Still doesn't. When you have such a solid branding concept (Stop & Shop/stop lights) and you completely ditch it for something so random, it leaves those of us with even a touch of branding experience completely baffled. I think they were so determined to create an iconic icon to tie to the brand they lost sight that the icon needs to be GOOD to work. Anyway, I give the chain huge credit for going back to their roots and going all in on the stop light look again. They've made their old concept new, modern and fun. Really great job!
DeleteSo this is a bit off topic on this post (see my more ON topic comment above). I am not seeing a lot of improvements at the Stop and Shops I go to (the two Clifton stores). While they have been renovated (Broad Street remodel got more things wrong than right), there is still so much that turns me off about Stop and Shop. Produce? Terrible. I cannot remember the last time I was in a S&S where the produce was fully stocked. At the very least, there are always a few sections looking horribly picked over. I can't even recall the last time I purchased produce at S&S.
DeleteThis past week, I stopped in the Kingsland Road store to grab some eggs. To S&S's credit, the egg dept was fully stocked. I soon figured out why. They are literally price gouging with the egg prices. I was shocked. Purchased none. I was wondering if maybe there was a spike since the last time I bought eggs but I then went to ACME to find sensible prices, significantly lower than S&S. All brands at least 30% lower than S&S. ACME is currently lowering prices throughout their stores, at least the ones I shop in. Not advertising a thing about it but it is happening. I keep seeing on items I buy regularly. Anyway, I was going to stop by customer service to mention how terrible the egg prices were but realized there was no point giving grief to someone who has absolutely no control over the situation. I DID go to the customer service desk at ACME to let them know their egg prices are fair compared to other stores. I actually really appreciated my comments.
One other complaint about S&S... their bakery prices are pretty nuts. They hardly bake anything in-store yet price absolutely everything higher than ACME and ShopRite. I will say the bakery at the Kingsland store is beautiful but ti's a hard no for me on the prices. Sad to to see too that individual pastry cases, which were always great are officially gone. Virtually no grab and go items which ACME can't seem to come up with enough grab and go items.
I wonder if Acme is doing that more in stores where they have more competition?
DeleteThe last couple I've been to in NJ were ones that would not fall in that category (the one just over the bridge from Toms River on Seaside and Boonton), and I didn't notice it, but that may just be items I happened to look at - generally things with digital coupons which are often good deals at other stores but far less often good deals there (since the manufacturer digitals tend to repeat from store to store).
I have found some deals with S&S, but those may again be more competitive locations (like the one on 37, with Shoprite not far up the street or similar) - though if I load coupons and check pricing they don't seem much different, since it's likely set to a store either here in NY or over in MA, being those would be the closest options.
With the logo, it seemed at one point that they were trying for something generic enough that it could (eventually) be used for all the chains (S&S and both Giant at least), which the stoplight probably wouldn't work as well. Of course, the Hannaford/Food Lion tried that as well for a short time (I think when they still had Bloom/Bottom Dollar as well and before they were connected), but reverted to the store names for most things.
Yes, you're right abou that... a logo that could be used across banners. I totally get it, just sad that S&S's branding had to be wiped clean to facilitate that.
DeleteI have had an absolute impossilbe time using S&S's app. Particularly in-store when I try to add coupons prior to checkout. Never ever goes well. Never a prob at ACME or even Shoprite (and their app is about 5 years behind everyone else's.)
Just a quick pricing note:
Nellie's Free Range Large Brown Eggs 18-count:
Stop & Rob $12.99
ACME regular price $9.99 on sale this week for $8.99
$4 difference!!! Insane. Literally every brand of eggs is cheaper at ACME.
Have you tried the machine at Stop & Shop? I haven't done that (being in those much less often), but the ones at ShopRite always seem to work well for adding coupons.
DeleteNot sure if the S&S one just adds them all or allows selecting (as SR does) - the only other one around here (Price Chopper) just adds all the digitals advertised in the ad, which is not all that are available.
Seems the ShopRite one may take a bit longer, but is better overall to be able to pick what to add.