TOUR: ShopRite - West Caldwell, NJ

ShopRite of West Caldwell

Owner: Dara Sblendorio / Sunrise Supermarkets

Opened: 1969

Previous Tenants: none

Cooperative: Wakefern Food Corp.

Location: 540 Passaic Ave, West Caldwell, NJ

Photographed: June 2016 & May 2019

A favorite among supermarket fans around the mid-Atlantic region comes to The Market Report today! This legendary pagoda-inspired building was constructed in 1969 for an older ShopRite over in Caldwell, which has since been kept by Sunrise Supermarkets as a liquor store. Sunrise also owns the pagoda-free Parsippany ShopRite. The story here is that original owner Ned Gladstein was fascinated by Japanese architecture and traveled to Japan many times, so that when he had the opportunity to build a brand-new ShopRite back in 1969, the Japanese style was extended throughout the store. (In 2017, Gladstein's daughter Dara Sblendorio took over the West Caldwell and Parsippany locations, along with the liquor stores in Caldwell and Westfield.)

You enter on the right side of the store to an enormous bakery department, the first department along the grand aisle. (The entrance is to the right above, just behind the staircase.) The bakery department is well-known for its outstanding selection...

Donuts, cookies, muffins, and so on to the right of the entrance, with bagels and rolls opposite.

The grand aisle features bakery, deli/prepared foods, catering, cheese, and produce departments as you head towards the back of the store. Service bakery and deli line the right side wall, with the other departments in an island in the middle of the grand aisle. Pharmacy is to the left of this bakery case facing customer service.

Expansive bakery selection! And you can see the store is still fairly cramped, despite the fact that it's been expanded since its construction. It is, however, still only 47,000 square feet. (Of course, that's nothing compared to Parsippany's 83,000 square feet.)

Service bread, frozen cakes, and sliced deli are next on the right-side wall. The low ceiling makes decor pretty much impossible in this section of the store.

Prepared foods are next, with cheese and a catering office facing in an island.

A large salad bar marks the transition into the produce department in the back corner of the store, where we can see the Asian-inspired decor more clearly.

Since these original 2016 pictures, the produce department has been remodeled slightly, with some new fixtures, new lighting, and a new floor. No substantial renovations have been done, however, and there has long been speculation that the owners are looking to move across the street from where the Stop & Shop is.

An overview of the department, which takes up the back corner of the store. And here's a look at the area after the minor fixing-up...

A floral department rounds out the grand aisle, with meat and seafood counters lining the back wall of the store. A row of packaged meats faces them, creating an extra aisle along the back of the store.

Looking across the back wall of the store, we see more of the Asian influenced design, with dragons on the aisle markers.

Although this store is smaller and older than the Stop & Shop, it's still the preferred choice for many in West Caldwell because it tends to have more upscale products and lower prices.

Japanese characters direct us to the milk and juice department at the back wall of the store. Dairy continues down the last aisle...

...complete with, instead of paper goods above the refrigerator cases, rickshaws...

Dairy continues to the front wall of the store, where an alcove acts as an expansion of the grocery department. This corner has been reset so many times, I honestly couldn't tell you what products are there right now.

Notice how the decor and aisle markers have been modified for the lower ceiling in this corner.

Moving on to the front end, we are thanked for shopping Sunrise ShopRite with a cordial "Sayonara!"

And one of my favorite features of the store is located past the registers as you're leaving, the "family tree" of the store's managers. I have to commend this store for always having at least two managers on the floor, and they're always friendly and actively assisting customers.

That's all for this corner, finally! We're heading just to the east tomorrow to revisit Jack's Foodtown in downtown Caldwell.