The Market Report

Shop Fair Supermarkets Opened: September 2026 Owner: Anibal Rodriguez Previous Tenants:  Radio Farms (open in 1950) > Gristedes > Fine Fare (1999-2025) Cooperative: Retail Grocers Group / General Trading Location: 1617 St Nicholas Ave, Manhattan, NY Photographed:  July 23, 2021; September 25, 2024; and September 17, 2026 It's always fun to see a new supermarket opening, and this one has some interesting quirks. So let's head up to Washington Heights in northern Manhattan to check out this new Shop Fair! It's tiny -- only about 5,000 square feet, although I have to imagine there's a basement. It's also been a grocery store for a very long time. In 1950, a produce market called Radio Farm was on this site, and I know that subsequently there was a Gristedes here although I'm not sure when. By 1999, it had become a Fine Fare, which closed last year. After extensive renovation, it reopened earlier this month as a Shop Fair. The new Shop Fair is owned by Anib...

  Continuing the celebration of The Market Report's 10th year! Each month of 2026, I'll be posting a different special feature to celebrate my 10th year of writing this blog. Last month, we took a look at my  favorite posts of 2016-2020 , and in January, we investigated the  history of A&P and its other brands . This month, let's spend some more time on the past with a look at some memorabilia today along with  this week's historical photos  and first memorabilia post . Today, in our final memorabilia post, we'll be looking at matchbooks ( which we've seen before ). These were all purchased at an antique store in downtown Gloucester, MA. The apostrophe has since been dropped from Gristedes. Elm Farm has an extensive ad for Bonded Meats inside this matchbook. Given that the antique store was in Gloucester, I wouldn't be surprised if these came from right in town. The Shaw's in Gloucester was previously a Star Market... ...and I don't know if ...