Star Market
Time for another Star-Shaw's-Star Market! This one is in the eastern part of Somerville, just under a mile from the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston. This store is about 63,000 square feet, built in the 1980s (at a slightly smaller size) as a Star Market and then renovated and expanded around the time it became a Shaw's in the early 00s, switching back to Star Market around 2015.
Inside, it was given a simple cosmetic remodel then, and got a couple more updates (some new fixtures and flooring) around 2019. I visited in early 2020.
You enter to the grand aisle on the left side, with prepared foods, deli, and cheese lining the left side wall. Produce is opposite, with meat and seafood at the back. There's a liquor store and Starbucks at the front of the store, then dairy, frozen, and HABA are on the right side. Bakery is in the front-right corner. As far as I can tell, this store doesn't have a pharmacy, and never did.
The layout these days (right down to the service departments with no lower drop ceiling) is extremely similar to an early 00s Shaw's, likely suggesting the remodel happened around the time it converted from Star Market to Shaw's. My only hesitation with being certain of that is that the exterior doesn't look similar to the Shaw's stores of that time, and instead looks more like a 90s ACME. ACME and Star Market shared ownership at that time.
Cheese Shop in the back-left corner.
This store also had a large bulk department at the back of the grand aisle. Like with the other Star Markets we've seen, I don't know for sure whether this survived the coronavirus. I was here on a trip to Boston in February 2020. Ah, what we didn't know back then.
Looking across the back wall of the store...
And a look at the liquor store in the front. You can see floral and the entrance to the right below.
The grocery aisles still have the look and feel of a Shaw's.
Dairy begins on the back wall in the back-right corner, then extends down part of the last aisle. Bread is in the front half of the last aisle.
HABA in slightly lower shelves, towards the right side of the store.
While this Star Market decor is attractive enough, it's a little on the bland side in a simpler store like this one. When done with 100% execution, it's much more exciting, and so is the decor package that followed this one.
The freezer cases looked pretty new when I visited.
Dairy, bread, and frozen in the last aisle, with bakery in the front-right corner.
One thing is for sure, the windows here let in a lot of light. Check out that front-end!
Opened: ca. 2015
Owner: Albertsons Companies
Previous Tenants: Star Market (early 1980s - early 00s) > Shaw's (early 00s-ca. 2015)
Cooperative: none
Location: 14 McGrath Hwy, Somerville, MA
Photographed: February 22, 2020
From here, we're headed south to Kendall Square in Cambridge, about 3/4 of a mile away, for a smaller-format gourmet market. Come back tomorrow to check it out!
I immediately thought ACME in Lincroft!
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