Crosby's Marketplace - Marblehead, MA

Crosby's Marketplace
Opened: late 1990s

Owner: Chris Crosby

Previous Tenants: Penni's Market (closed 1995)

Cooperative: Associated Grocers of New England

Location: 118 Washington St, Marblehead, MA

Photographed: July 14, 2019

Here in Marblehead's Historic District, a quaint New England downtown street is hiding a surprise: a full-service supermarket tucked away behind (and under) the main business district. Crosby's Marketplace opened in downtown Marblehead in the late 1990s in a newly-built building behind, and at a lower level than, the main downtown strip. But there's an interesting history here that goes beyond the current 15,000 square foot supermarket.

For decades, actually since the early 1900s, Penni's Market was located at 120 Washington Street in Marblehead. The store was originally a full-service grocer, later becoming a self-service supermarket and expanding out the back, facing a parking lot. By the 1990s (or possibly earlier), the small supermarket had been acquired by Chris Crosby, an owner of the small chain of Crosby's Marketplace stores. In 1995, the expansion in the back of Penni's Market burned down, rendering the store unusable. Crosby rebuilt, foregoing the original storefront on Washington Street and instead building a new supermarket in the rear lot facing the parking lot. The newly-built store opened in the late 1990s under the Crosby's Marketplace name.

You enter to the produce department in the front-right corner. Several grocery aisles are behind the produce department (since it's long and thin) and beer, wine, and dairy in the rest of the first aisle and part of the back wall. Frozen foods are in the back-left corner, with meat and frozen lining the back half of the last aisle on the left side. Service deli, bakery, and seafood counters are in the front-left corner.

This store's interior design bears some similarities to the Village Market in Roslindale, as you can see, so it's possible the same design firm was responsible for both.

It's an attractive store, and even though it doesn't seem to have gotten major renovations since it was built, it's been kept up nicely. You can see some things are new, such as these dairy cases. Other fixtures are older but have had doors newly installed.

A look across the back wall from the right side (dairy) to the left (frozen).

This store, like the rest of the Crosby's locations (there are six), is a member of Associated Grocers of New England. They use Food Club and Full Circle storebrands from Topco. There's another Crosby's in a former centennial A&P in Salem, about two and a half miles west as the crow flies.

Nonfoods are on the left side of the store, with frozen and meat in the last aisle on this side.

The service butcher counter is also here in this aisle. In the below picture, I'm looking towards the front of the store, and seafood/deli/bakery are just around the corner to the left below.

These service departments are compact but complete, with a nice selection for a store that's under 15,000 square feet. This is the only supermarket in Marblehead, although there's also a gourmet market a third of a mile south.

Hot food and salad bar in the front corner. Again, a very nice feature for a small independent store to have.

And baked goods and customer service are in the front-left corner. I love this curved and lit bakery shelving!

Looking back towards deli and prepared foods...

And a look across the front-end. You can see that even though it's a lower-level space -- basically at the basement level of the row of stores on Washington Street -- they've tried to incorporate some natural light with windows where you are above ground.

I also like the rustic touches, like the wood trim. It matches the small-town feel well. That wraps up our look at Marblehead, and tomorrow it's off to Salem!