The Market Report

Brothers Marketplace Opened: 2019 Owner:  Michael Bozzuto Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  none Location:  1 Broadway, Cambridge, MA Photographed:  February 22, 2020 We've seen several locations of the chain Roche Brothers now, and they also own Sudbury Farms and small-format, upscale Brothers Marketplace locations around the Boston area. In late 2024, Connecticut-based wholesaler Bozzuto's acquired all three chains . They also own Adams Hometown Markets and other assorted independents. Although generally the Roche Brothers and Sudbury Farms stores are rather upscale, Brothers Marketplace is a further step up. They're small stores, but angled more towards being gourmet markets than regular supermarkets. This Brothers Marketplace was a new-build store in 2019, and measures just 12,000 square feet. We enter to produce in the middle of the store. The grocery aisles, along with dairy and frozen, are on the left side of the supermarket, with butcher and seaf...

Star Market Opened:  ca. 2015 Owner:  Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants:  Star Market (early 1980s - early 00s) > Shaw's (early 00s-ca. 2015) Cooperative:  none Location:  14 McGrath Hwy, Somerville, MA Photographed:  February 22, 2020 Time for another Star-Shaw's-Star Market! This one is in the eastern part of Somerville, just under a mile from the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston . This store is about 63,000 square feet, built in the 1980s (at a slightly smaller size) as a Star Market and then renovated and expanded around the time it became a Shaw's in the early 00s, switching back to Star Market around 2015. Inside, it was given a simple cosmetic remodel then, and got a couple more updates (some new fixtures and flooring) around 2019. I visited in early 2020. You enter to the grand aisle on the left side, with prepared foods, deli, and cheese lining the left side wall. Produce is opposite, with meat and seafood at the back. There's a liquor sto...

Reliable Market Opened:  2012 under current ownership; 1980 previously Owner:  Ongu Cho Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  45 Union Sq, Somerville, MA Photographed:  February 22, 2020 Somerville's Reliable Market goes back to 1980 when Korean-American immigrant Chung Shin Park opened the 5700 square foot Korean and Japanese food store at Union Square. In 2012, current owner Ongu Cho purchased the business. You can read more about it here , and take a look inside here . And tomorrow we're headed out to the eastern edge of Somerville for a big-chain supermarket!

Market Basket Opened: ca. 1979 Owner:  DeMoulas family Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  none Location:  400 Somerville Ave, Somerville, MA Photographed:  February 22, 2020 Welcome to one of the very few Market Baskets in the immediate Boston area! For the chain's dominance in many of the suburbs, they have almost no presence in the more urban areas. This Somerville location is one of only three close to Boston -- the other two are in Chelsea, which we'll see shortly, and the far western side of Waltham . Market Basket doesn't have any stores within the city of Boston, and I don't know whether they ever did. Groceteria says that several Market Baskets did exist within Boston, but it's unclear to me whether they're the same company. If I'm not mistaken, this company was still called DeMoulas at the time those Market Baskets are listed. At 48,000 square feet, this store isn't exactly small. But it's definitely smaller -- and older -- than the cha...