The Market Report

Stop & Shop Opened: ca. 1990s Previous Tenants:  Finast > Valley Discount Foods previously on site Location:  949 Grafton St, Grafton Hill, Worcester, MA Photographed:  November 4, 2018 and March 31, 2023 It's time for a look at our first Stop & Shop in Worcester! There are three, and the other two are to the north. Don't worry, we'll get there. We're here at the Perkins Farm Marketplace, a large strip mall that borders the Perkins Farm Preserve between Grafton Street and the southern tip of Lake Quinsigamond. We're at the far southeastern corner of Worcester here, just under two miles from the new Market Basket in Shrewsbury . The mall was built in the mid-1960s and opened in 1967, with a Finast supermarket. That was still there by 1979, but in 1985, it had become Valley Discount Foods. City directories are mum on this property until 2017, when it was listed as Stop & Shop. But from the store model and Historic Aerials, we know Stop & Shop opene...

ACME Markets Opened: 2015 Previous Tenants:  A&P (late 1990s-2015) Location:  75 Mayhill St, Saddle Brook, NJ Photographed:  May 10, 2024 The Saddle Brook ACME is getting a pretty significant renovation, but it doesn't look like any decor will be changing. It's long been one of my least-favorite area ACMEs, and it's gotten relatively little investment over the years. ( Here's a previous post. ) Since I wrote that, a fair amount of work has gone on here, and a fair amount more seems to be coming. The sad little cafe in the front corner here has been removed and replaced with a gigantic floral department, and the former floral department next to the entrance is now a Drive Up & Go staging area. Foods to Go is now cheeses and packaged deli items, with all the former A&P prepared foods counters removed. The deli is much smaller, condensed at the back. Several rows of self-serve prepared foods run in front of the deli. Produce has new fixtures, bakery has new fi...

SuperFresh Opened: 2021 Owner:  Randy Abreu Previous Tenants:  A&P > Presidente Supermarket > Compare Foods Supermarket (2005-2021) Cooperative:  Key Food Stores Location:  161 Jefferson St, Passaic, NJ Photographed:  May 10, 2024 Quick revisit back to Passaic's SuperFresh (we also saw the new Food Universe in town today) to check on the renovation. I thought it was strange that they hadn't installed a real SuperFresh sign after switching from Compare Foods in 2021, but it turns out there was a good reason: the exterior (and interior) is being renovated. It looks like they'll keep the rough shape of the well-preserved A&P facade, though. The back hasn't gotten any work yet, and it really needs some updating. The inside is under construction, too... ...with signage (especially Compare Foods-specific signage) removed from several departments. I didn't think the interior really needed any work, but I suppose it's always good to update. Maybe they...