The Market Report

Original Grocery Tenant: Kunec's Market Address: 302 Maffett St, Wilkes-Barre, PA Opened:  by 1946 Closed:  by 2017 Later Tenants:  vacant Photographed:  December 22, 2018 At the corner of Maffett and Hollenback Streets in northern Wilkes-Barre sits this 1800 square foot store. Unfortunately, Kunec's Market closed by 2017 after more than 70 years in business. The store was open by 1946. I think by the end, Kunec's was mostly a deli and butcher shop, but it appears it was once more of a full grocery store. The store closed by 2017 but then in 2018 was condemned. Despite that, by 2022, it was still standing but further deteriorated. It's possible that the apparently hand-painted Kunec's Market signage was original to the store's opening, if likely restored later. Like Harry's , I wish I could've gotten to this store when it was still open, but I'm glad I got there soon after it closed. All I can do is keep visiting grocery stores, especially interes...

Schiel's Family Market Owner: Frank Schiel Opened:  2005 Cooperative:  ShurSave Location:  7 George Ave, Wilkes-Barre, PA Photographed:  August 12, 2020 Welcome to the other Schiel's! This one is five years newer and, at 51,000 square feet, more than double the size (it was a new-build store opened in 2005). The ShurSave-affiliated store is very similar to the more southern location in town, but we can tell it's newer and larger inside. This store also has a state-run Wine & Spirits store inside of it. The layout is roughly the same but larger, with produce in the front right corner, deli/bakery in the first aisle, meat on the back wall, and dairy/frozen on the left side of the store. This store, too, feels a little on the older side these days but that's mostly cosmetic stuff (the decor and some fixtures could stand to be updated a little, but everything else mostly looks good). We can tell the store is larger because the deli and bakery departments are much la...

Original Grocery Tenant: Big V ShopRite Address: 675 Kidder St, Wilkes-Barre, PA Opened:  1990s Closed:  2001 Later Tenants:  vacant, half now Ollie's Bargain Outlet Photographed:  December 22, 2018 I mentioned on one of our recent Gerrity's posts that Wakefern used to have a presence in the Wyoming Valley, actually as early as 1981 (not sure if they were here before that). I believe most of that presence was driven by member Big V, which also had a large presence in the Hudson Valley of New York. For a quick recap, they attempted to leave Wakefern around 2000, trying to simultaneously convince Wakefern they were going off on their own to avoid paying the penalty to leave while also having very public negotiations with Stop & Shop to sell the chain to them. Wakefern rejected their argument, required they pay the penalty to leave the coop, and that bankrupted Big V. Wakefern bought back most of Big V's assets (one store went to Stop & Shop), but some store...

Original Grocery Tenant: A&P Address: 500 Scott St, Wilkes-Barre, PA Opened:  by 1962 Closed:  1970s Later Tenants:  assorted non-grocery tenants Photographed:  December 22, 2018 Today's snapshot is a not-particularly-good picture of a former A&P to the east of downtown Wilkes-Barre. The 12,000 square foot store was built between 1959 and 1962, making it one of the earlier centennials. It was definitely closed by 1985 but most likely by the previous decade. Here's a better look at the store. Interestingly, a little grocer called La Isla Fresh Market has opened in a tiny sliver of the old A&P (or actually maybe in what used to be a bank next to the A&P?). But tomorrow we have a much more in-depth look at a larger former supermarket very close to this store right here on Grocery Archaeology!

Bravo Supermarkets Owner: John Marquez Open:  2020-2023 Previous Tenants:  A&A Auto Stores Cooperative:  Krasdale Foods Location:  319 S Main St, Wilkes-Barre, PA Photographed:  August 12, 2020 On the other side of Main Street, we recently saw a Save-A-Lot that closed and a former ACME , but there is still a supermarket in business in this neighborhood. The Bravo Supermarket of Wilkes-Barre opened in the summer of 2020 in a small space of under 7000 square feet previously occupied by an auto parts store. I'm assuming that the new Bravo in the former Save-A-Lot building replaced this one, and I don't think this store is in business anymore but I'm not sure. This older Bravo is very nice if very small, but definitely a full supermarket. We have produce in the first aisle, which is double-wide, with meat on the back wall and dairy/frozen in the last aisle. All of the fixtures and decor appear to have been brand-new when this store opened. It doesn't look like...