The Market Report

Valley Farm Market Owner: Joe Fasula Opened:  2021 under current ownership; 2003 previously Cooperative:  Wakefern Food Corp. Location:  1880 Stefko Blvd, Bethlehem, PA Photographed:  September 10, 2016 & January 13, 2022 We are to visit what's left of Valley Farm Market, once a local chain that had a location where SuperFood Fresh is now. This is a fairly sizable store, at around 66,000 square feet, and part of it was originally a Food Fair (note the signature tower), later a Food Lane and then Valley Farm Market. In 2021, Valley Farm was sold to Wyoming Valley chain Gerrity's, and I was here shortly after the sale. A few months after Gerrity's purchased this store, the 10-store chain joined Wakefern as The Fresh Grocer. I'm not 100% clear on whether this store is still branded Valley Farm Market (initially they said they wouldn't change the name, then later announced it would become a Fresh Grocer). But as of my January 2022 visit, it was still very much the...

Ideal Food Basket (future) Owner: Juan Diaz Opening:  2023 Previous Tenants:  Food Fair (closed 1979) > Food Lane (1979-2001) > Ahart's Market (2001-2021) Cooperative:  America's Food Basket Location:  410 Montclair Ave, South Side, Bethlehem, PA Photographed:  January 13, 2022 The Ahart's Market in Bethlehem, after closing in 2021, has been stripped back to the studs for a major renovation by owner Juan Diaz, who is preparing to reopen the store as an Ideal Food Basket. See the store before its closure in yesterday's post here . I visited the store to check on the progress over a year ago, in January 2022. Progress, unfortunately, has been rather slow as the renovation appears to be extremely extensive. From my visit to Ahart's, even several years before it closed, it was apparent that a major remodel was quite necessary. The owners of the Ideal Food Basket, who own among other stores the Ideal Food Basket on Coney Island Ave (which has been remodeled ...

Ahart's Market Owner: George Ahart Opened:  2001-2021 Cooperative:  Great Valu Markets Location:  410 Montclair Ave, South Side, Bethlehem, PA Photographed:  September 10, 2016 We saw the Ahart's stores in Phillipsburg (now demolished) and Allentown (now a Grocery Outlet), and although I photographed the Bethlehem location at the same time as those -- as a matter of fact the same day back in September 2016 -- for whatever reason it didn't quite come around to my radar to post until now. Bethlehem and Phillipsburg were definitely the worst two stores, and my lingering memory of this store was just how strongly the store smelled of rotting meat and mildew. The 17,500 square foot store is just a few blocks from the very attractive if very hilly campus of Lehigh University, but was the only supermarket on the South Side until the CTown opened. That store, by the way, has been remodeled since I visited, but is only about half a mile away. You can see coverage of the s...