The Market Report

Main Street Market Owner: Duane and Nichole Smith Opened:  1995-2022, sold in 2019 Cooperative:  none Location:  90 N Main St, Bangor, PA Photographed:  December 22, 2018 Today's store has a bit of an interesting history. As you might be able to guess from the facade in the first picture, it was built as an A&P, probably in the 1950s. In the 1970s, it became a Thriftway , then Main Street Market in 1995. I visited in late 2018 and the following year, the store was briefly closed and then sold. After some light renovation, it was reopened only to close again in 2022. The 13,000 square foot store has a great classic supermarket feeling, or I suppose it had that feeling since it no longer exists -- and as far as I know, the space is currently vacant. You enter on the right side of the storefront, seen here facing the parking lot, and walk across in front of the registers to the left side where produce and meat line the wall. Deli is on the back wall, with frozen pa...

Original Grocery Tenant: ACME Markets Address: 438 Blue Valley Dr, Bangor, PA Opened:  ca. 1960s/70s Closed:  1996 Later Tenants:  Ace Hardware (2006- ) Photographed:  December 22, 2018 Welcome to Bangor, PA! We're just across the street from what's considered Pen Argyl , but very close. You've probably already figured out why we're checking out this store; the Capitol Ace Hardware is housed in a 15,000 square foot, former pitched-roof ACME. According to JoshAustin610 , ACME closed in 1996 and the space was vacant until Ace opened up about 10 years later. I assume the Mr. Z's across the street (later Weis, linked above) was the final nail in this store's coffin. But it seems to do quite well these days as a hardware store. Oh, and while I'd never write a blog about them, I do love independent small town hardware stores. Ace Hardware's entrance and exit are definitely left over from ACME, and we can see the remnants of the so-called "magic carpets...