The Market Report

Original Tenant: ShopRite Address: 227 North Ave, Dunellen, NJ Opened:  early 1960s Closed:  probably 1980s Later Tenants:  subdivided Photographed:  July 2020 Just a few blocks east in downtown Dunellen from today's Tropical Supermarket is this 17,000 square foot space previously occupied by a ShopRite. The space appears to be an expansion from an original 5500 square foot space in what now makes up the far back of the building. Not a particularly exciting structure, except for one element... The round ShopRite tower sign remains! Today it holds an Apple Tree Farmers Market sign, which doesn't exist anymore but used to be in the far right portion of the space. I think it's likely that the metal siding here has been intact since the ShopRite days, although the awning seen in the first picture looks a little newer. JoshAustin610 speculates that this store could've been replaced by Piscataway or closed when Watchung was expanded in the 80s, but I think it's more ...

Tropical Supermarket Owner: Ricardo Hernandez Opened:  ca. 2010 Previous Tenants:  CVS (1990s-2008) Cooperative:  Key Food Stores Location: 446 North Ave, Dunellen, NJ Photographed:  July 2020 The borough of Dunellen, with a population just over 7,000, is a pretty small town, but it does have a supermarket in its downtown. This Tropical Supermarket opened between 2008 and 2012 in a 9600 square foot former CVS, which relocated to route 22 in Green Brook in 2008. The ShopRite in town closed probably in the 80s, and part of it was taken over by a short-lived greengrocer shop, but otherwise Tropical is the only game in town. Of course, the ACME in Middlesex is just about half a mile away. We've seen quite a few of these Tropical locations around the state, and I must say they've been consistently impressive. This one was no different -- a small but well-appointed store with a good selection of almost everything, good fresh products, and good prices. Produce lines this...