Seabra Foods
Opened: 1998
Owner: Antonio Seabra
Previous Tenants: A&P (1950s-1990s)
Cooperative: none
Location: 180 Schuyler Ave, Kearny, NJ
Photographed: August 6, 2021
This post was re-written on January 4, 2026 with new photos. Scroll down for the original post.
Seabra Foods' Kearny store, a supermarket of roughly 26,000 square feet just outside Newark, was built in the 1950s as an A&P. A&P closed in the 1990s, with Seabra opening shortly thereafter.
Produce is on the left side of the store, with deli, butcher, and seafood on the back wall. Packaged meats and dairy are actually in a grocery aisle -- a somewhat unusual arrangement -- with frozen foods on the right side of the store and a liquor store in the front-right corner.
Inside, there's almost nothing left over from A&P, as the Portuguese grocer did a major renovation when they moved in. Since then, they've made minor changes and updates but mostly the store still looks the way it did when Seabra moved in.
Seabra isn't a member of a cooperative, but is supplied by C&S Wholesale Grocers and uses Best Yet storebrand products along with certain Full Circle items.
Some of the flooring in the store was replaced in recent years.
This is the original post from February 21, 2019.
The second store tour for this week is slightly farther removed from its A&P roots than the
first. This A&P was a 1950s-era store (although I don't believe it was a Centennial). A&P closed in the 1990s according to
Styertowne over on Flickr, and Seabra opened soon thereafter following renovations to the interior and the exterior.
I visited the store in July 2016. Since then, the property has been redone with a new parking lot and landscaping. You can see that in the street view below.
However, this store has not received updated
Seabra Foods branding, even as of summer 2018, when the street view was taken. Inside, the store doesn't have much decor really at all.
You enter into this alcove next to the produce department. Produce then continues along the first aisle.
Here we will see the single piece of decor in the entire store, a sign that says "Produce." There are really no traces of A&P decor left inside, either, although I do think a few of the fixtures are A&P-era.
Deli, meat, and seafood line the back wall.
It's funny, the ceilings are high enough that there could have been plenty of decor on the walls, but there's nothing.
Seabra's butcher counter always looks very impressive, but I've never actually bought anything from a Seabra butcher.
The seafood department is also pretty extensive and contains a large selection of salted fish, something you don't see even in most ethnic supermarkets.
In standard Seabra fashion, the first aisle is dairy and packaged meat. It's a somewhat strange layout that I don't think I've seen in any other store, but it works fine.
Interesting placement of the aisle markers! It seems like this one is more over the shelf than the aisle.
Moving to the far side of the store.
Frozen foods line the far side wall of the store. These cases might actually be left over from A&P, since they look pretty old.
Looks like some of the freezer cases have been replaced. I really like the exposed ceiling in this store, which is something we don't typically see in remodels of these older 1950s-era stores. Usually the ceilings were relatively low, anyway.
Kearny is the only New Jersey Seabra Foods that sells liquor. New Jersey liquor laws require that one corporation can only own two liquor stores in the state.
Looking over to the side wall.
Seabra Foods uses Best Yet private label products, along with Exceptional Value for budget-priced items. On the other hand,
Seabra's Market sells Avenue A products and Full Circle Market organics.
The front-end from the liquor store side. It's very bright because of the windows on two sides, which is really nice.
Back over on the entrance side of the store looking towards liquor.
It's funny that there are only five checkouts. The store is small, but it's not
that small. Maybe it's just not a high-volume location. It's slated for a complete renovation and a small expansion in the near future, so we will have to check back -- since it's been two and a half years!
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