SuperFresh
Welcome to Newark! Does this storefront look familiar? We visited it a while back when it was a CTown, I mean a Town Town, in May 2021 with 2019 pictures. I've returned to report that it's currently being converted to a SuperFresh. The terrible CTown signage around the store's exterior has finally been put out of its misery. Temporary SuperFresh banners have been hung around the store's exterior while the outside is being redone. The inside is mostly done with its renovation.
A few notes on this store. When the Save More Meat & Produce Market down in South Bound Brook closed back in 2021, the signage from that store was brought up here, and this one was co-branded CTown and Save More. That's around the same time that the renovation began here (which I didn't fully realize at the time). Mostly new fixtures, new flooring, new lighting, and a slight layout change was wrapping up around May 2022, when the conversion to SuperFresh began.
Inside, we see that the produce department has been significantly increased in size compared to how it used to be. The produce itself also looked much better. Not to mention the fact that the fixtures have all been replaced. Doesn't look like this store got any secondhand fixtures from South Bound Brook, but it's possible.
As we see, the store is small -- only around 12,500 square feet. The service butcher counter that CTown had has been removed, and the meat department has been relocated from the back wall to the right side of the first aisle (with produce being on the left side and in the center). The dairy department is now on the back wall of the store, with frozen in the second-to-last aisle. While I don't remember for sure, I believe dairy used to be in the last aisle.
As we see, there's still a little bit of work going on around the store's interior, but it's pretty much done inside. There was a guy on a ladder doing some work in the ceiling, hence the moved ceiling tiles you'll see. If you zoom into the ketchup on the left, you'll see an interesting combination of storebrands -- Krasdale and Seven Farms, left over from CTown, and Urban Meadow, the Key Food brand. By the way, I'm not certain whether ownership changed when it switched from CTown to SuperFresh. My gut tells me yes because the rest of the stores in this group (Food Depot and Extra) did not also switch to Key Food at the same time, which is how we typically see conversions like that happen. Why would an owner switch one of their stores to Key Food but keep the rest with Krasdale? I guess it's possible, but unlikely, I think. However, the argument that the store did not in fact change ownership is that the renovations began when the store was still a CTown. Typically, if a store is sold, we'll see the name change first and then renovations happen afterwards.
As we see, the store is quite well maintained these days, and the shelves are beautifully stocked.
All new freezer cases here in the second to last aisle. This is a slightly odd layout choice, because the last aisle is then left to just regular grocery again. I do believe dairy used to be on the outside wall.
Not sure what this was previously, but here's a small corner in the back right of the store, which is today a nonfoods alcove.
Here's the last aisle, with water, soda, cookies, and bread. I do wish the ceiling had been painted, since we can see some ceiling tiles are clearly much newer than others.
New paint looking pretty sharp on the exterior, but we can see the exterior renovations look like they'll stay pretty limited. A new awning has gone up, but notice that the "meat & produce markets" signage actually remains. New food pictures in the windows on the front and side.
This building is really showing its age, as we can see. It needs a much more comprehensive remodel, which it's clearly not getting right now. We can see here the original entrance and exit doors on the wall facing Clinton Avenue. SuperFresh temporary signage is still hung on the Clinton Avenue side...
Owner: unknown
Opened: May 2022
Previous Tenants: CTown Supermarkets (1985-2022)
Cooperative: Key Food Stores
Location: 120 Clinton Ave, Central Ward, Newark, NJ
Photographed: May & June 2022
And here's a look across the front-end back towards produce. Customer service is in the corner to my left in the above photo. That about wraps up our look at this SuperFresh, but I will be sure to return and check out any exterior renovations that happen! I have a couple progress photos from mid-June...
Other SuperFresh updates... the Roselle store still does not appear to have any construction progress towards reopening. More on that soon. And the second of three SuperFresh stores on Staten Island is set to close (that's 3501 Amboy, and 6400 Amboy closed a while back, with 778 Manor still open). Unfortunately, I haven't been to that SuperFresh and probably won't make it there before they close, but they did have all the Pathmark decor intact. Seems like a pretty low-effort conversion, much like 6400. There are still 10 SuperFresh stores in New Jersey, 2 in the Bronx, 2 in Queens, 2 in Brooklyn, and one on Long Island. SuperFresh stores have also been announced for Middlesex and Old Bridge, although I have heard about no progress on either one of those. Make sure to see today's other stores here!
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