Stop & Shop
We are returning to the South Orange Stop & Shop -- though that's mostly a technicality, since my original post on this store doesn't exactly have much detail. The roughly 45,000 square foot supermarket is built with a really unusual configuration, and it's below street level. (The parking lot even includes a tunnel under this entrance ramp.) Pathmark built the store in the 1970s, selling it to Stop & Shop in 2015. Stop & Shop then did a quick remodel, and finally it's getting a more extensive remodel. Side note: scroll down to the second half of this post for pictures before the renovation started.
It's a Pathmark Super Center layout with produce up the middle of the store. Pharmacy is in the front-left corner, with deli and prepared foods at the back of the produce department and seafood/meat lining the rest of the back wall to the right. Dairy and frozen are on the right side with bakery in the front-right corner.
One instantly noticeable change: the ceiling has been painted white instead of the multi-toned beige that Pathmark had. More on that when we see the "before" pictures later.
It's almost done getting its remodel into the current Stop & Shop decor package, which is a big improvement over the older decor packages.
A look at the aisle markers getting switched out...
When Pathmark was here, nonfoods were to the left of produce (with pharmacy) and food/grocery items to the right. Stop & Shop has reset the store at least once and now is in the process of doing it again.
Water is on the back wall to the left of the deli counter. It doesn't look like the flooring will be redone here, which is a shame since it doesn't match the decor at all -- and also is very beat-up. This store was looking very rundown before the remodel.
Decor not yet done in the Kitchen department.
Stop & Shop says it'll be ramping up the pace of remodels. To me, the bigger question is the quality of those remodels, which varies enormously from store to store. This one looks like it'll mostly be a repaint and decor swap, since I wasn't seeing major changes to the fixtures and flooring and so on.
You can see some ceiling tiles that haven't been painted yet here.
The grocery aisles were being reset when I visited, with some items on temporary shelving while the changes are made.
The decor isn't finished yet, but here's an idea of how it'll turn out.
I believe Stop & Shop has replaced some of the fixtures across the store, but others are left over from Pathmark.
This is an awkward layout, and you can see examples of how other operators are handling it here and here.
A look across the front end...
I'm interested to see how this will turn out once it's done, and whether there'll be more extensive work eventually. For now, let's check out the store prior to its remodel.
Pathmark still made itself known in several places, such as these cart corrals...
This decor package has a tendency to lose letters, as this (actually kind of appropriate) mistake shows...
You can see the multi-color ceiling here. Pathmark had darker brown over produce and a lighter beige over the rest of the store.
The dedicated natural foods aisle has been removed here, too.
Water remains where it was on the back wall...
The store wasn't in terrible shape, but definitely in need of some freshening up so it's good to see that's happening.
And as you can see, the bones haven't changed since the Pathmark days. You can see a couple pictures of Pathmark's interior here.
The lighting facing the walls has been removed. You can see it below, although you can also see some of it was burnt out.
This store is the largest supermarket in the immediate area, but is roughly equidistant from the new Village Marketplace here in South Orange, The Food Emporium in Maplewood, and City Supermarket in Newark.
Again, this decor package didn't exactly hold up very well. This was a cheaper version of it, too, compared to the full-fledged version.
Bakery in the front-right corner...
...and a look across the front-end.
Opened: 2015
Owner: Ahold Delhaize
Previous Tenants: Pathmark
Cooperative: none
Location: 407 Valley Rd, South Orange, NJ
Photographed: March 1, 2024 and May 8, 2026
That's all for this Stop & Shop for now, but I'll be back when the work is finished. In the meantime...
Always interesting to see something unusual, and that they kept at least some of the setup.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the pharmacy was (I'd think) slightly redone, as Pathmark you usually had to walk into those through what is now the blank wall in the before photos, rather than having the window into the main area as S&S has.
Also, surprising they'd move the HABA from those aisles across from pharmacy, as they have that even in their own designs most often.
But, they must do at least reasonably well there, since they do look to be leaving the full- service seafood that so many S&S stores got rid of over time.