Shaw's - Salem, MA

Shaw's
Opened: 1980s

Owner: Albertsons Companies

Previous Tenants: none

Cooperative: none

Location: 11 Traders Way, Salem, MA

Photographed: March 29, 2025

The time has come to make a visit to Salem! Yes, that Salem. This nondescript strip mall outside of downtown Salem probably isn't the first place that tourists go, but it's definitely the regional retail center, with Shaw's, Market Basket, Home Depot, Planet Fitness, TJ Maxx, Target, PetSmart, Town Fair Tire, a liquor store, and numerous fast-food restaurants within a couple blocks.

This 60,000 square foot Shaw's actually dates back to the 1980s, although it appears to have been renovated and expanded in the early 00s. When I visited last spring, it had just celebrated its latest grand reopening, with a fresh coat of paint outside and much more extensive changes inside, as we'll see. Until this remodel, the store still had the old Shaw's logo and slogan out front.

The remodel was pretty extensive, even if the store doesn't look wildly different from most other Shaw's we've seen. As you'll see touring the store, the vast majority of the refrigeration and freezers were either replaced or refurbished, and unlike most remodels, the store actually got new flooring throughout, not just on the perimeter. New lighting, too, was installed throughout the store. Here's a look at the grand aisle before the redo.

Floral is in the front-right corner, with produce and packaged deli in the rest of the first aisle. Service deli and prepared foods are at the back, with meat and seafood on the rest of the back wall. Dairy/frozen are on the left side, with bakery in the front-left corner.

The trim from the previous decor is actually still visible here on the wall, and you can see where the lighting is left over from the previous decor package. But all of the produce fixtures are new, except for some of the refrigeration.

Speaking of, here's some older cases by the deli that have been painted and had new doors affixed on them.

All-new fixtures in the deli, as the service counter was reduced in size but replaced with lots of grab-and-go prepared food options. In many of these Shaw's and Star Market remodels I'm seeing, the selection hasn't actually been reduced, it's just that more things are grab-and-go than served to order.

Here's a look across the back wall.

Something you don't usually see in these remodels: new flooring, a neutral gray tile, in the aisles.

Part of the reason this store might've gotten such an extensive remodel is its proximity to Market Basket, which is all of 250 yards north. Still, it doesn't appear this Shaw's is struggling -- especially since it's coexisted with the Market Basket for its entire life. In fact, this store opened in the 80s and the Market Basket was built in the 70s. I don't know if either had an older location in town, though.

Large service meat and seafood counter on the back wall. Here's a look at it before the remodel. Looks like the meat case is new but the seafood case is left over from before the remodel.

HABA is on the left side of the store. No pharmacy here, and as far as I can tell, there never was one. The Target next door has a CVS inside.

The freezer cases are definitely new. It's nice to see such a significant investment being made in their remodels.

Dairy and cold cuts in the back-left corner, in older cases but with new doors.

The store looks sharp and put-together, not like some of the earlier remodels. Or the stores stuck in remodel purgatory.

Dairy in new cases in the last aisle.

And bakery is in the front-left corner.

Like the deli, the bakery has a lot of packaged grab-and-go options. In fact, there's not a service case here anymore. But all the offerings that previously would've been in the service counter are now packaged, so it's not a significant loss, and you can still order custom cakes and the like when the counter is open (it was not at the time of my visit).

A new staging area for Drive Up & Go has been added to the front end, built into what looks like it was previously... not much. Maybe this area originally had self-checkouts which were later removed.

And a look across the front-end.

Tomorrow, The Market Report heads across the parking lot to check out the Market Basket here in Salem!