Now that we've toured all of the larger stores of Dorchester -- and taken a look at some former supermarkets, too -- it's time to check out some of the small independent stores around the neighborhood! A big caveat here: this is nowhere near a look at every independent grocery store and corner store in Dorchester, but it should give us a good overview.
Between Fields Corner and Savin Hill are two small stores we didn't check out when we were here first, but the A-C Farm Market is a Vietnamese store just south of Truong Thinh.
Foodland is a block west, and this independent corner store may or may not be related to the Foodland we saw in Lowell. Sure, it's your average corner store, but it also has meat and produce, making it a bit heftier than the average 7-Eleven. These stores are just a couple blocks north of the Price Rite at Fields Corner.
And a couple blocks in the other direction is Jhade Supermarket, a small corner store that's had a few different names over the years. It was previously T Stop Market (T being the name of the subway/light rail system in Boston, and T Stop being a reference to the subway stop a block away), then Ramirez Grocery, and now Jhade. Brother's is two blocks north.
And just one more block north of Brother's is Sobrino Market, a corner store and butcher shop. These pictures are a combination of 2019 and 2021 pictures, but I didn't go inside in 2019.
A butcher counter lines one wall of the store, with dairy, frozen, and beverages opposite. There's a small produce section at the front and a few grocery aisles. Notice the Krasdale brand items.
Just around the corner from the former Stop & Shop at Grove Hall is this small, old-school grocer built into the ground floor of a house (similar to what we've seen in Worcester and elsewhere). It's been a handful of independent corner stores over the years, but it was vacant for nearly 10 years before L&N Market opened up here.
And we wrap up with another very old-school store built into a residential building on Blue Hill Avenue three blocks south of the Stop & Shop. As I said, this is far from a complete look at all of the small stores of Dorchester, but it's a look at the few I've run into during my visits. And that's all for Dorchester! Tomorrow, we'll see what's coming up next.
Ashmont
Phú Thinh Market
Opened: ca. 2013
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: Economy Food Stores (1930s)
Cooperative: none
Location: 1826 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA
Photographed: July 27, 2019
We start in Ashmont, in southern Dorchester, for Phú Thinh Market, a small Vietnamese grocery store. It opened around 2013, and previously, the Viet-Huong Market occupied part of the space (as you can see above, the store is two storefronts combined, and they've since been painted the same color). I don't know what was here before Viet-Huong, but way back in the 1930s, a location of the local chain Economy Food Stores was here. I regret not going in to take pictures, but there are quite a few on Google Maps.
Mass Market
Opened: unknown
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: Finast (late 1930s-early 1960s)
Cooperative: none
Location: 1732 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA
Photographed: July 27, 2019
A couple blocks north is this corner store, with an old-school sign I just couldn't resist. The window to the left of the door here has since been replaced, and it actually gives you a decent view inside if you zoom in on Google Maps.
Fields Corner
A-C Farm Market
Opened: unknown
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: unknown
Cooperative: none
Location: 1429 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA
Photographed: July 27, 2019
Foodland Supermarket
Opened: 2016
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: unknown
Cooperative: none
Location: 197 Adams St, Dorchester, MA
Photographed: July 27, 2019
Jhade Supermarket
Opened: 2019
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: T Stop Market (closed ca. 2010) > Ramirez Grocery (ca. 2010-2019)
Cooperative: none
Location: 479 Geneva Ave, Dorchester, MA
Photographed: November 13, 2021
Sorbino Market
Opened: 2006
Owner: Bernardo Abreu
Previous Tenants: Finast (late 1920s - early 1940s)
Cooperative: Krasdale
Location: 416 Geneva Ave, Dorchester, MA
Photographed: June 15, 2019 and November 13, 2021
Grove Hall
L&N Market
Opened: 2019
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: unknown
Cooperative: none
Location: 154 Geneva Ave, Dorchester, MA
Photographed: November 13, 2021
Millennium Store
Opened: 2005
Owner: Efre Moreta
Previous Tenants: unknown
Cooperative: none
Location: 496 Blue Hill Ave, Dorchester, MA
Photographed: November 13, 2021
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