TOUR: Adams Shore Super Market - Quincy, MA

Adams Shore Super Market

Opened: 2024 under current ownership; ca. 1972 previously

Owner: Arpan Patel

Previous Tenants: unknown

Cooperative: none

Location: 494 Sea St, Quincy, MA

Photographed: August 4, 2019

Foodliner isn't a brand we know anymore, but in the 1940s and 50s, as supermarkets developed, it was a nationwide name. It was, in fact, the brand name established for stores belonging to the Independent Grocers Alliance -- now, of course, that group simply goes by IGA. But despite the fact that the name is no longer in use (I remember reading once, though I don't know where, that it was inspired by streamlined trains, which could be called streamliners, and were relatively new at the time), there are still independent grocery stores across the country that happen to use the Foodliner brand because they simply never removed it.

The Adams Shore Super Market, located in the quiet peninsula neighborhood of Adams Shore in eastern Quincy, is one such store. The supermarket of just 6500 square feet has been operating since 1972, which appears to be when the building was built. When I visited in 2019, I don't think a single thing had changed inside or out, except for the removal of a PGA sign on the awning. I don't know what PGA was, but my best guess is that it was a cooperative like IGA (or possibly even related to IGA). Something Grocers Alliance, perhaps.

When I arrived at the (rather sleepy) store a little after noon on a Saturday, it was not yet open. I was determined to not have traveled all this way in vain, though, so I took a couple pictures through the front window. Eventually, a man (presumably the owner, and also apparently the only employee when I visited) noticed me and came to unlock the door. At the time, the store had very limited hours. New owners, who acquired the store in 2024, have extended the hours.

So these first few pictures are taken through the front windows, which still give us a great look at the store's wonderful interior.

While there isn't a whole lot of information about Foodliner available online, here's a picture of the inside and outside of a Foodliner in Burlington, MA, only about 20 miles northwest. I don't know specifically where that store was, though.

It's a very old-school store, and like I said, I doubt a single thing had changed since the 1970s opening. Produce is on the right side in the first aisle, with meat and deli on the back wall. Dairy is on the left side, with frozen foods on the front wall.

It looks like the new owners have reset the store to greatly increase the wine and beer selection, but there's still a full grocery store here.

I love this signage! And it's amazing how well the interior has been preserved. Obviously, the exterior is rather rundown, but the interior was pristine when I visited.

If I remember correctly, this store used Best Yet products from C&S. I haven't been back since ownership changed, so I don't know if there's been any other changes.

Meat and deli items in this wonderfully retro setup on the back wall.

Sadly, the previous owners had closed up the service deli counter. I don't know if the new owners have reopened the deli counter, though.

And that's the end of our look at this wonderful store! I'm glad it's been able to stick around as a grocery store, and I'm also so glad the interior has been kept up so nicely. Up next, we're off to a recently-closed grocery store just north of downtown Quincy.