The Market Report

Xtra Fresh Market Opened: June 10, 2026 Owner: unknown Previous Tenants:  non-grocery tenants Cooperative: Krasdale Location: 7040 Castor Ave, Philadelphia, PA Photographed: June 26, 2026 Happy 4th and happy 250th birthday of America! Also, welcome to the grand opening of Xtra Fresh Market, a small independent grocer that opened last month on northeast Philly's Castor Avenue business corridor. Occupying a former office building, this supermarket occupies somewhere around 7500 square feet, so it's quite small. It's a little under a mile from Castor Avenue's new Compare & Save supermarket . That difference seems to be kind of significant. This store is much closer to a major retail center with ACME, Target, Giant, and Sprouts, and a bit removed from the business district where Compare & Save is. Even just a couple weeks after its opening, this store seems to be getting less traffic than Compare & Save. Above, a photo just before the opening to the left, a...

Cousin's Grocery Market Opened: June 2026 Owner: unknown Previous Tenants: Walgreens (2000-2023) Cooperative: none Location: 1607 Bridge St, Philadelphia, PA Photographed: June 26, 2026 Continuing our 4th of July celebration with another supermarket tour! This time we're in Philadelphia, visiting this store and another not too far away (plus one in Massachusetts ). You can probably tell what this store was previously from the outside alone, as it was built as a Walgreens in 2000 and closed in 2023. The roughly 15,000 square foot supermarket opened last month in a neighborhood notably lacking in grocery options especially since the loss of the longtime Holiday Thriftway about two blocks over. The need was clear: When I visited this store, it was already very busy, even at an off time. Cousin's Grocery Market has built out a surprisingly full supermarket in the small space, with produce and floral in the first aisle on the left side. An in-store bakery (I wasn't e...

Compare & Save Supermarket Opened: May 15, 2026 Owner:  Carlos Batista Previous Tenants: Penn Fruit > Rite Aid Cooperative: Allegiance Retail Services Location: 6515 Castor Ave, Philadelphia, PA Photographed:  June 5, 2026 I don't have any inside insight, but from my estimation, Allegiance Retail Services -- the cooperative behind Foodtown and Pathmark -- has had a bumpy couple of years. Their member Morton Williams was acquired by Wakefern, cutting around 15 stores from their network, followed by member Adam Shapiro switching to Key Food  (that was another three stores). A brand-new Hudson Valley Freshtown closed in under a year after opening, while Food Circus has retreated to just two stores after closing stores in Port Monmouth and Red Bank . Meanwhile, the launch of Pathmark Daily feels more like a last-ditch retool to save a struggling store than a true launch of a new brand. Despite all of that, there's been a really significant, somewhat surprising b...