Save A Lot
The difference here is profound when you compare these pictures, which are a combination of 2025 and 2026 pictures, to my original tour from 2020. Again, this looks like a small full-line supermarket -- something more in line with an Extra or CTown than most Save A Lots.
You'll see small differences, such as the hanging flags and promotional signs. I've combined two sets of pictures here to give the most complete tour of the store.
Urban Meadow products are here too, in several aisles, along with a couple random Wild Harvest items.
Here, they added another grocery aisle at the back of the store to expand the grocery selection.
At Orange, Hillside, and Newark, I spotted Tropical Supermarket carts. While it's not unusual to see secondhand carts, especially in these independent grocers, it's also possible that Tropical owns these three stores. They're supplied by Key Food, so the presence of Urban Meadow items here would track.
It's amazing how the new owners of these stores have completely transformed them without doing any real renovations.
It's confusing, and even more so given that there's very little information out there on who owns these Save A Lot stores. But my best guess, working with limited facts, is that the same folks own Newark and Orange along with the Hillside SuperFresh. It wouldn't surprise me if those owners also own Tropical, but I don't know that for certain.
I'd love to know what the supply agreements for these stores are like. How are they managing to get some Key Food items alongside their Save A Lot ones? If it's true the three north Jersey stores are all under the same ownership, why didn't all three switch to SuperFresh at the same time?
For now, though, it's good to see some improvements at these stores. Save A Lot doesn't seem to be able to get much traction north of the Philly area (with two stores in north Jersey, four left in CT, two left in MA, and four left in ME, but none left in RI, NH, or VT). It's interesting to see how those few remaining stores are evolving.
That's all for these Save A Lots, but see the rest of this weekend's posts here!
Opened: 2018
Welcome back to Save A Lot here in Orange! This store opened back in 2018 as part of a push into North Jersey, along with stores in Newark, Linden, and Hillside. Hard to say whether that initial push waas a success, but these days, only this store and Newark remain Save A Lots. Linden closed, and Hillside became a SuperFresh. Let's go back and take a closer look at these stores. So, over the past few years, Save A Lot has switched from corporate-owned stores to a fully franchise model, and it looks like that was when Linden closed. Orange and Hillside were both sold to the same owner around 2021, who ran the stores poorly and sold them again in 2023. Newark, Orange, and Hillside at that point were all redone and reset to become full supermarkets rather than limited-assortment discount stores, so when Hillside switched to SuperFresh it was basically a matter of changing the sign on the front. Let's check in with Newark and Orange!
You can tell right away this is a big difference from the previous setup here. In fact, this Save A Lot now has more in common with a small full-line supermarket, of which there are so many in the Oranges.
The layout hasn't changed, but the selection sure has. A much-expanded produce department is in the front-right corner, with meats behind it. Dairy lines the back wall with frozen on the left side of the store. The grocery aisles feature a much larger selection, more name brands, and a far larger assortment of international foods.
One notable observation is Urban Meadow (Key Food storebrand) products in several categories. This store seems to have been selling Urban Meadow on and off for a couple years now, possibly to supplement the Save A Lot brands, but they don't seem to be officially related to Key Food. On the other hand, if it's the same owners in Orange and Newark as it is in Hillside, maybe there is some relationship with Key Food given that Hillside, as a SuperFresh, is now a Key Food store.
As you can see, this is very different from the typical Save A Lot, but this format is now the standard for the few remaining Save A Lot stores in this area. The four remaining Connecticut stores are all basically full-line supermarkets now, as are the two that remain in Massachusetts and the two in the Hudson Valley. In fact, the Hudson Valley stores are actually owned by La Placita.
One row of freezers has been removed to make room for an added grocery aisle, and there's some new unusual bakery signage up here in the front.
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: none
Cooperative: none/Key Food Stores(?)
Location: 200 Central Ave, Orange, NJ
Photographed: June 22, 2026
So there's a look at this Save A Lot that's now decidedly nothing like most Save A Lots, but very similar to the Hillside SuperFresh. Newark is too...
Save A Lot
Opened: 2015
Owner: unknown
Previous Tenants: Good Deal > non-grocery tenants > Strauss Auto (2003-ca. 2010) > Key Food (2013-2015)
Cooperative: none/Key Food Stores(?)
Location: 545 Springfield Ave, Newark, NJ
Photographed: January 23, 2025 and June 24, 2026
Saturday
- Shaw's opens a former Hannaford unit in central Massachusetts
- New independent grocers open near Oxford Circle and Frankford in Philadelphia
Sunday
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