Market Basket
Opened: 2013
It's time for our final stop in the central Middlesex County area! The Market Basket here in Hudson is the largest store in town, where we've also seen the Shaw's and Stop & Shop. At 75,000 square feet, this is nearly double the size of the much smaller Shaw's. It was built in 2013, so while it's over ten years old it still feels very new.
Inside, it's exactly what we'd expect from a Market Basket. Spacious, clean, well-stocked, expansive, and completely boring.
The dairy aisle is the first aisle, on the right side of the store. Seafood and deli are at the back of the first aisle with cold cuts in the second aisle, meats line the rest of the back wall, and produce is on the left side. Bakery and prepared foods are in the front-left corner.
Market Basket stores get very crowded at busy times, but they also tend to have plenty of space and wide aisles.
Cheese in an island in front of deli and seafood.
Market Basket is, as I've said before, almost a cult favorite in New England. Their stores are not beautiful or flashy, they haven't changed in decades, and they do almost no advertising. But they maintain the stores at an extremely high level, staff them fully, and -- maybe most importantly -- price them very low.
Market Basket also tends to have a good selection of local items, especially since they self-distribute.
As this is a newer store, we see some of the newer fresh features like this butcher counter and the expanded prepared foods department.
HABA is in different shelving in the middle of the store. As I believe I've said before, Market Basket doesn't run any pharmacies.
Frozen foods are on the left side of the store before produce.
Looking back across the back wall towards dairy...
And the produce department, which stubbornly resists every supermarket design trend of the last 30 years and acts like it's still 1985 -- but with a lot of selection, good freshness, and good prices, who cares?
One surprising find: these O Organics cherries, probably mislabeled from the same producer. (Out of curiosity, I bought one, and it rang up no problem.) Market Basket doesn't have a dedicated organic storebrand, but there are Market Basket-branded organic products.
Greens looking good in an old-school mirrored refrigerator...
Turnover is exceptionally high at most Market Baskets, and so freshness is generally good. But I've had mixed freshness at one or two locations.
Bakery and prepared foods in Market's Kitchen in the front corner.
Something about the "Market's Kitchen" or "Market's Butcher Block" doesn't sit quite right with me. It's not technically wrong, I suppose, but Market Kitchen or The Market's Kitchen feel more natural. It almost sounds like there's a guy named Market Basket, so it's Market's Kitchen. Thanks for your cooking, Mr. Basket.
And another one, Market's Cafe, is in the front-left corner in front of the prepared foods.
A look across the front-end...
Opened: 2013
Owner: DeMoulas family
Previous Tenants: none
Cooperative: none
Location: 8 Highland Common E, Hudson, MA
Photographed: July 7, 2024
Tomorrow we're on to the final part of Middlesex County, so come back to check out what's next!
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