Market Basket - Lynn, MA

Market Basket
Opened: 2017

Owner: DeMoulas family

Previous Tenants: none

Cooperative: none

Location: 40 Federal St, Lynn, MA

Photographed: August 3, 2019

Okay, so you know how every Market Basket is basically the same? Seriously, they are. The chain has used the same decor (which is barely even decor) for decades now, with the same basic setup although newer stores have expanded prepared foods, bakery, and butcher departments these days. Some are exceptional for one reason or another, such as the Chelsea one I posted not long ago that's over 130,000 square feet. There's also a small handful of stores that are abnormally small, such as the John Fitch Highway location in Fitchburg.

Here in Lynn, the Market Basket was constructed right outside of downtown as a new-build in 2017. It's big, but not as sprawling as the Chelsea one, clocking in at around 90,000 square feet. Like Chelsea, though, there's not really much that has been added to this store -- it's just more of what's found in a regular Market Basket.

Dairy is in the first aisle on the right side, with cheese at the back and deli/seafood counters on the back wall behind that. Meat lines the rest of the back wall, with frozen and produce on the left side. Bakery and prepared foods, along with Market's Cafe, are in the front-left corner.

A look across the back wall of the store...

Generally, in Market Basket stores, HABA and other nonfoods are right in the middle of the store. Typically, they're in two or three aisles that are split in the middle. No Market Baskets have pharmacies.

As this is a newer and larger Market Basket, there's a dedicated service butcher counter. Older stores only had a butcher window behind the single-tier refrigerators.

Notice that the ceiling is painted a darker color around the perimeter.

In a strange layout choice that seems to be standard for most Market Baskets, prepared/cut produce and other refrigerated items are in an island in the back of the store between frozen and meat (you can see that below).

Bread in the last grocery aisle, with frozen foods next to this and then produce in the last aisle. In some Market Basket stores, breads are in the last aisle opposite produce.

And produce is on the left side of the store.

I do like that Market Basket tends to have windows here in the produce department, in their newer stores. More natural light is always nice. I'll never understand why so many stores are designed with no or minimal windows.

Here's a good example of what I was describing with the size. Below, you can see that the produce department is expansive but not particularly extensive: there are large quantities of the same thing. So this 90,000 square foot store has roughly the same produce selection as a 45,000 square foot store.

In another bizarre Market Basket choice that most of their stores have, ice cream is not in the frozen foods aisle. Instead, it's on the outside wall of the produce department.

Bakery and Market's Kitchen are in the front-left corner. The seating area and coffee shop are behind this.

Floral in the front of produce, and you can see the ice cream to the left of floral.

The main way to tell newer Market Basket stores is this expanded Kitchen department. Their newer stores have large prepared foods departments, including plenty of made-to-order selections -- something that basically all other big supermarkets have eliminated.

And a look across the front-end...

Market's Cafe is around the corner from Market's Kitchen and the bakery, with the cafe in the front-left corner against the front wall.

I really like the design of the Market's Cafe counters, and I wish there were more decor elements like this throughout the stores. Counterpoint: Market Basket is perfect as it is and I hope it never changes.

This is the largest supermarket here in Lynn, but there's actually another one just two blocks over. We'll be touring that one tomorrow!