The Market Report

Super 88 Market Opened: 2007 Owner:  unknown Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  none Location:  188 Commercial St, Malden, MA Photographed:  July 26, 2019 We're kicking off our (very short) look at Malden with a tour of this supermarket just a bit south of downtown, and it's the second of two Super 88 Market locations still in business today. The local chain declared bankruptcy in 2009 , and since then has downsized a bit with just this location and the Allston one still operating. This store was planned back in 2004 but didn't come to fruition until its 2007 opening. The 30,000 square foot supermarket was actually a new-build by Super 88, and I don't believe there was previously another grocer on the property. You enter on the right side of the storefront to the produce department, with meat in the back-right corner. Dairy and other refrigerated foods line the back wall of the store, with seafood and frozen foods on the left side. The building -- like the...

Our next stops are a couple of the northeastern suburbs of Boston! Now that we're out of the immediate Boston area, my coverage becomes much less dense, so the standard disclaimer here that we won't be seeing every supermarket in all these areas, but we'll stop by a couple of towns. The first stop will be in Malden, a city basically straight north from Boston, then we'll head a bit southeast to Chelsea, a waterfront city facing the Mystic River and Chelsea Creek opposite Charlestown and East Boston . We'll wrap up with a look at Winthrop and Revere on the coast. This will be a relatively short group, as I only have a couple of stores in each town to show you. There are plenty of others in this area I simply haven't been to yet. Look out for posts in these towns for the next week and a half or so, and then it'll be time for a very special feature!

Market Basket Opened: 2011, replacing older store on property Owner:  DeMoulas family Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  none Location:  1201 Bridge St, Lowell, MA Photographed:  August 23, 2025 Happy Monday! Just a couple blocks east of the Dracut Hannaford is the final Market Basket in Lowell we haven't yet seen -- Store #2, in fact. We saw Store #1 (and stores #19 and #88 ) last week. I mentioned Chelmsford is Store #4, and so after some digging I found that store #3 was actually down in Wilmington , about 12 miles southeast. #5 was up in Lawrence, and... you know what, I'm writing this at 11 pm on a Thursday. I should stop with the rabbit hole. So although this was one of the early locations, that doesn't mean (by Market Basket's numbering scheme) this actual building was the second Market Basket. This 67,000 square foot store, in fact, only opened in 2011, replacing an older store in the strip mall when it was constructed on the site of a closed Ame...

Golden Farms Supermarket Opening: TBA Owner:  unknown Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  Key Food Stores Location:  200 Henry St, Hempstead, NY Photographed:  December 5, 2025 After recently gaining a Shop Fair and a Food Bazaar -- both replacing existing supermarkets, to be fair -- Hempstead is about to get another one, as Golden Farms nears completion south of downtown. This approximately 20,000 square foot store is a new-build and has been in progress for several years at least. Way back when, there was a strip mall on this property that had an Associated as the anchor, but it was demolished for a CVS. The picture above is kind of the back/side of the store, as it will actually face towards the CVS . Golden Farms signage is up around the property too, and this store will be just down the street from Hempstead's Foodtown . Golden Farms is a member of Key Food Stores, although it's not yet clear who the owner here will be (I've seen at least two names, R...

Future supermarket Opening: TBA Owner:  unknown Previous Tenants:  A&P > Met Foodmarkets > Rite Aid Cooperative:  unknown Location:  81 1st Ave, Manhattan, NY Photographed:  December 12, 2025 Here's a bit of a rarity: a single-floor drugstore building in lower Manhattan. It's only about 5500 square feet at ground level -- I assume there's a basement -- but even after Rite Aid has closed here, it isn't slated to be demolished for a multi-story mixed use development. Instead, a supermarket is moving into the space. In fact, it looks like the space was previously a supermarket, too. Commenters on local blog EV Grieve mention that it had been an A&P and then a Met Foods. That post also has slightly more updated pictures than mine. A mural runs along the side of the building,  The storefront is covered, but there are a few opportunities to peek inside. Here's a look through what will presumably be the main entrance. And through the big windows ac...