Anatolia Market
Opened: ca. April 2024
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: assorted non-grocery tenants > Green Life Market (Apr 2022-Oct 2023)
Cooperative: none
Location: 29 NJ-23, Wayne, NJ
Photographed: May 10, 2024
So apparently a former buffet near Willowbrook Mall is not a hospitable location for a natural foods store.
Green Life Market opened in April of 2023, then closed in October of the same year. It was a very pleasant store if hard to get to and a bit hard to navigate even once you're inside given the building's history. Last month, a Turkish grocery store called Anatolia Market moved into the space, essentially keeping it as it was while changing the product mix for a wide variety of Middle Eastern groceries and halal meat.
My pictures are a little more limited this time around because the layout and fixtures haven't really been changed since it was Green Life, and it was essentially brand-new so there wasn't much to update.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure Anatolia Market is getting much more traffic than Green Life. There were only a handful of other customers in the store when I visited, and judging by some of the produce on the shelves, I'm guessing it's not getting the turnover it needs.
Still, it's an impressive collection of foods, and the latest in Middle Eastern supermarkets around Paterson (and Clifton). Those cities have become centers for Middle Eastern immigrants, with vibrant neighborhoods (and lots of food) in several of the neighborhoods. A few of the suburbs now have Middle Eastern supermarkets representing various countries. Wayne is about five miles outside of Paterson.
The room to the far left is still nonfoods and paper/cleaning, and the room to the back left is still mostly grocery aisles.
They're pristine and well-appointed with lots of groceries.
Frozen foods still at the back.
This seems like it might be a better use for the space that can attract more customers than Green Life, but it remains to be seen if it'll catch on. So far, it doesn't seem to be attracting very many customers, which is a shame because it's a nice store (and it was a nice store as Green Life, too).
Olives, deli, and halal butcher on the back wall. This is where Green Life had their deli and prepared foods counters.
I love the tiling behind the counter here, and the wall above it!
Dairy and refrigerated foods are in the middle of the store, between produce at the front and butcher at the back.
Where Green Life had vitamins and supplements and such, Anatolia Market has added some more grocery aisles, and a bakery on the far-right side.
Dried fruit and nuts extend beyond that towards the front end. I love this flooring.
And a look at the front-end! The cafe still exists beyond the registers, but I don't know how much ready-to-eat food is available here these days.
We'll see how Anatolia Market does, but I hope they're able to hang on in this location since it's a nice store and something different from the other supermarkets around this area.
Here's the other stores we're seeing today!
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