Star Market
Opened: 1954
Happy October! Checking out the Star Market in Brookline, it's clear it's been updated quite a bit. But it's not a new store -- in fact, it's been in business since 1954, when the 16,000 square foot store was constructed.
This store is on the far northwest side of Brookline, near the borders of Brighton and Newton. It's about a mile west of Coolidge Corner, and it's just about two miles northwest of Jamaica Plain. The store is small -- about half the size of Stop & Shop south of Coolidge Corner -- but really packed with stuff. It's deep and narrow, so the produce department is in the front half with the rest of the grand aisle behind it on the right side. Cold cuts and part of dairy are on the right side in the first aisle, which for some reason is labeled aisle 2, and bakery, deli, and seafood counters are on the back wall. The meat department is in the back-left corner, with dairy and frozen on the left side wall of the store in the last aisle.
This store has an unusual interior, with Premium Fresh & Healthy 1.0 decor having been painted to match the newer Star Market decor.
This property was sold about three years ago, but there's no plans I'm aware of to change it in any way. If there is a long-term plan to redevelop this single-story retail building with a multi-story mixed-use development or something like that, Star Market may not want to make big changes to the interior (like renovations) if there's a chance the store could be demolished in the near future, which was rumored to be the reason for the sale a few years ago.
I can't quite figure out why the first aisle is labeled aisle 2 -- is it because they're considering the produce department aisle 1? -- but cheese and cold cuts are here. Notice that there's also some packaged cheeses that might normally be in the dairy department, presumably because there's limited space there.
The service departments are at the back of the store.
Cheese and bakery are in the back-right corner, with deli and seafood in the middle.
It was hard to tell, but it did look like there was an in-store bakery. It's possible there's a basement here where some of the prep space is.
The meat department is in the back-left corner, which you can see to the left above, with seafood facing it next to deli.
Even though the store is small, it seems generally well-maintained. It doesn't feel dated in the same way that the Stop & Shop does, even though its Premium Fresh & Healthy 1.0 remodel would've been roughly around the same time as the Stop & Shop remodel. The new paint job helps make it look a bit more modern, but the PF&H decor packages have held up better over time than the Stop & Shop decor, too.
Unfortunately, some of the department signs are not particularly easy to read on the dark wall, and some like deli and meat are even the same color as the wall.
More grocery shelving on the back of the produce department. There are an additional two aisles or so on the left side of the store, to the left of the produce department.
Dairy and frozen are in the last aisle. I wonder if there were previously additional words below "frozen foods" here, as you can see in the other departments.
Looking towards the back of the store...
Seven aisles in total, given that the aisles are numbered 2 through 8. And now a look along the front-end, where I believe HABA and customer service are in a small expansion out the front wall. You can see them to the right below.
Owner: Albertsons Companies
Previous Tenants: none
Cooperative: none
Location: 1717 Beacon St, Brookline, MA
Photographed: July 19, 2019
And that's it for the Brookline Star Market, and also for Brookline! We're close to the border of Boston's Brighton neighborhood here, and we'll be returning to Brighton shortly. First, though, we're going to take a look at the suburbs to the west of here. Come back tomorrow for a preview!
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