TOUR: Karns Foods - Mechanicsburg, PA

Karns Foods

Owner: Scott Karns

Opened: late 1990s

Previous Tenants: SuperFresh (1980s-1990s)

Location: 4870 Carlisle Pk, Mechanicsburg, PA

Photographed: August 13, 2022

Welcome to the Karns Foods in Mechanicsburg! As you might be able to tell from the distinctive slanted facade, this store was constructed in the early 1980s as a SuperFresh Futurestore, which then closed by the late 90s. Karns didn't do much upon moving in, it seems, to the outside, which retained its distinctive look. When I visited in summer of 2022, the store was undergoing an exterior renovation, keeping the slanted wall but reworking the entrance.

As we can see, what's now the main entrance was closed at the time of my visit. The roughly 40,000 square foot store feels significantly less like a SuperFresh inside than outside, but the facade would take a lot of structural work to remove the unusual appearance.

So for the time being, all traffic in and out of the store was being directed to the entrance and exit at the left side of the storefront.

And as we can tell from this rendering and the newer picture I linked above, the old metal siding was mostly covered over in the renovation.

I'm not sure if the interior was renovated at the same time, but it looks relatively new inside. At the very least, the flooring was scraped up and the concrete underneath was polished.

So let's head into the store! In the below picture, we can see where the entrance is now, but it wasn't yet open when I visited. Produce is on the right side of the store, with deli, seafood, meat, and bakery on the back wall from right to left. Dairy and frozen are on the left side of the store.

It's possible some of the older fixtures here are left over from the store's time as a SuperFresh, but it's hard to tell for sure. Many of the fixtures seem to be newer.

The layout seems to be mostly the same as what SuperFresh would've had, but the store is looking really good today.

Here's a look at the service departments, which take up the entire back wall of the store. Unlike most stores, the meat department is mostly the service counter with some packaged meats opposite it. Lots of full-service features here, which were not fully operational just because I visited the store at night.

Here's a look across the back wall of the store. It feels plenty large, and the high ceilings helped. I believe the lighting was in the process of being replaced when I visited.

The seafood and meat departments make up the centerpiece of the store, and in fact, Karns advertises it has Pennsylvania's best meat department. There might be a lot of contenders for that title, but from what I saw here, I'd feel pretty comfortable they're at least in the top 10.

Pretty standard grocery aisles, but a lot of selection. This store uses Essential Everyday and Wild Harvest items from UNFI.

Here's a look at the massive butcher on the back wall of the store.

The grocery aisles did feature a wider selection of local items than your average big-chain grocery store might, which is a nice touch.

Nonfoods and pet items are down at the end on the left side of the store.

Also at that end of the store is a pretty large international selection, focused on European items...

And the bakery department is in the back left corner of the store.

Aisle 14 and one side of aisle 15 are frozen, and the other side of aisle 15 is dairy.

I think the store looks really good, although I don't love this particular font for the department signage. Another newer Karns, opened in 2019, has what I consider to be a nicer decor package -- but that decor is mostly built into the existing decor from the previous tenant, Darrenkamp's. Note that that store also was built as a SuperFresh Futurestore!

A look down the dairy aisle, and across the back wall towards produce...

Additional frozen foods are in the front corner. I must say that I actually do like the hanging flags (banners?) in each department.

And I love the front-end! I love that they've not only kept the unique SuperFresh front wall intact, but they've used it to its full advantage.

There aren't too many of these Futurestores left still operating as supermarkets, but there are a few more out there. Other than that other Karns I mentioned, ACME in Ortley Beach, NJ and Whole Foods in Wayne, NJ come to mind, along with one in Maryland, and a Global Food location I can't find right now somewhere around Washington DC, plus some that have been renovated beyond recognition.

That's all for this Karns, and it's nice to see that not only is a supermarket still occupying this former Futurestore, but actually thriving and modernizing it. We're going to check out one more store in Mechanicsburg before we move on, with our next post over on The Independent Edition tomorrow!