Star Market
Opened: ca. 1970
Looking at the two stores today, you'd never guess that this Star Market in Somerville is actually newer by nearly two decades than the Porter Square Star Market half a mile northwest. That store has been renovated and expanded significantly, but this one really hasn't. It's still its original size -- about 26,000 square feet, so a bit smaller than the Porter Square one -- and maintains its original layout, but has gotten some very small cosmetic updates since its opening.
As you could probably guess given the aging store, it's slated for redevelopment. But then again, it has been for many years, so who knows if those plans will ever come to fruition. Since my 2019 pictures, they've replaced the sign outside and switched out the department signage inside, but that's hardly a floor-to-ceiling renovation like the Porter Square location received.
I love this old logo! Notice that it matches the interior signage this store probably once had. That decor package was used in both Star Market and ACME when both were owned by American Stores.
We enter this store to the front-right corner, where there's a customer service counter and this somewhat awkward corner with beverages that I have to assume was previously something else. Meat lines the first aisle, with deli, bakery, and seafood on the back wall. Frozen foods and produce are on the left side. It's a layout remarkably similar to the Shaw's in Auburn, which was built as an Iandoli and had no connections to Star Market as far as I know.
Another similarity: when I photographed this store, it also had a version of Premium Fresh & Healthy decor. That's since been replaced with the same decor package as the Porter Square store, but a very simple version of it that isn't more than a new paint job and some new lettering, as this PF&H remodel clearly was.
The flooring remains from the checkerboard arch decor package, and remarkably, so do the arches! They've long since lost their checkerboards, but it's easy to see how this area would've originally looked.
A note on these covered cases: the day I was here in Somerville reached 100 degrees, and the (fully functional) cases were simply covered because it was so freakin' hot out. And the old store's refrigeration and air conditioning was working as hard as it could, but they wanted to keep things colder.
You can see more painted-over decor here. It's possible the PF&H department signage here was brought in secondhand from a closed store, but it's likely that it was originally different colors (and painted to match the current Star Market decor later). That's what happened in Brookline's Star Market.
That repainting seems to have led to some unfortunate signage situations, such as the seafood sign being the same color as the wall it's on. These days, this department signage is white.
I imagine that if a redevelopment of this property still might be coming, Star Market wouldn't want to spend a lot of money to renovate the space.
Dairy on the back wall on the left side of the store.
Love those arches! And don't forget about the bathroom sign you can see below. We'll visit the bathrooms at the end of our tour.
An old-school freezer aisle on the left side...
...and produce in the last aisle. As you can see, the store is far from neglected, but it's definitely in need of serious updates if a redevelopment doesn't happen.
Looking back towards the back of the store...
There was a natural foods department in the front-left corner, which I assume has been removed as natural foods were probably integrated into the aisles in the latest remodel.
And a look across the front-end, with the beautiful 1980s-era Thank You for Shopping sign still intact! I'm not sure if it's still there today.
Love it!
If you enter where the restroom sign is, you walk through the backrooms to the restroom in the break room. You have to walk by rows of walk-in coolers that, remarkably, seem to be built out of wood. I have to assume this whole setup is original to the store.
And the bathroom itself has another relic, this hand dryer that must be, if not original, at least several decades old. And it still worked just fine!
Owner: Albertsons Companies
Previous Tenants: none
Cooperative: none
Location: 275 Beacon St, Somerville, MA
Photographed: July 21, 2019
That's all for this Star Market, and while it definitely needs updates, I'm really glad I got to photograph it before that happened. It reminded me of the tiny Magie Avenue ACME in Union that I grew up shopping at (with Checkerboard Arch decor, no less!). This store is a couple blocks north of Harvard's campus, and tomorrow we'll be seeing a small independent store on the other side of Harvard. Come back to check it out!
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