The Fresh Grocer
Owner: David Maniaci / Nicholas Markets
Opened: 2020 as The Fresh Grocer
Previous Tenants: A&P > Nicholas Foodtown
Cooperative: Wakefern Food Corp.
Location: 1068 High Mountain Rd, North Haledon, NJ
Photographed: April 20, 2026
Before we begin, just a heads up: this was originally posted in December 2020, but was rewritten with new photos in August 2026. Now for the post! Can you believe that behind that facade is a Centennial A&P? Though I can't find the picture right now, it still looked like that when Nicholas Markets took over the store in the 1980s. It was a Foodtown from then until 2020, when it was officially converted from Foodtown to The Fresh Grocer. And if the store looks familiar, that's because
we saw it back when it was a Foodtown in 2017.
As you can see, it hasn't changed all that much since the Foodtown days save for a few small updates to signage and fixtures. This store comes in just under 35,000 square feet, so it's not a huge store but it feels larger than it is with a lot of deluxe selections and departments.
Produce and seafood are on the right side of the store in the first aisle, with meat and dairy on the back wall along with a large service butcher. The rest of the dairy department is in the second-to-last aisle, with the remainder of the service departments in the last aisle. The back-left corner is home to the sprawling cheese department along with a mozzarella-making room. Deli lines the left-side wall with prepared foods and bakery in the front-left corner. A sushi bar and packaged prepared foods are on the aisle facing.
It looks like the major renovation here happened around 2008. The original centennial A&P on this site was a bit smaller, around 18,000 square feet, and it's been expanded out basically in all directions over the years. Inside, it looks basically like a new store, and that's in large part thanks to the great upkeep here over the years.
This final aisle is the centerpiece of the Nicholas Markets operation, which focuses significantly on prepared foods and gourmet items.
This post was rewritten on August 21, 2026 with new photos.
Not sure if you noted any difference in pricing (hard to tell as there aren't that many signs in the pictures), but that may have been the reason for changing to Wakefern (as they own the Fresh Grocer name, due to an earlier change of stores under that name to become a member of the co-op) from the former Foodtown branding.
ReplyDeleteWould also explain the ShopRite style signs :)
Yep, I'd assume the pricing was one of the changes. I'm a little surprised about the switch, especially given that David Maniaci was the president of Allegiance Retail. I'm now wondering if Wakefern has their eye on any other Allegiance members (I'm thinking PSK...?).
DeleteThis store was always my favorite store from a very young age, but I've liked it a little less ever since they switched to the Fresh Grocer. I know it's all the same people running it, but I've always had a bit more trust for the Foodtown brand and the chain as a whole. I don't think this is their slogan anymore, but they always stuck to the "Fresh and Friendly" thing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Yeah, I think Foodtown has phased out the Fresh & Friendly campaign in favor of "Shop Foodtown. That's smart!" I don't know if this was for all Foodtowns, but I've gotten these awesome retro-looking paper bags with the Fresh & Friendly Marketplace logo on them and all the departments in italic behind that at the Foodtowns in Caldwell and Lake Hiawatha. Haven't seen them recently, though.
Delete