The Market Report

We're here once again at the Fair Ridge Mall in Fairview, NJ to return to the store that we saw: As a Key Food Marketplace in May 2017 , As a SuperFresh in June 2018 , and most recently, As a Freshway in December 2018 . Note that all of those stores were owned by the same person, Kevin Kim, a supermarket owner out of Queens. Kim has at this point sold or closed all of his stores except this one. We've seen his store in Plainsboro  and Belleville , and a few of his other stores will be coming soon to the blog. As I mentioned, this is his last store and it's pretty obvious that this one is closing as well. Many of the shelves are empty around the store, but where it was most obvious is the meat department -- so often a centerpiece department that makes up for most of the store's perishable sales. Well, you'll notice this store's service butcher is closed and covered over with paper from the circular the store no longer uses. Oh, and although the...

Yesterday, we saw  Aron's West Orange Market, a Kosher supermarket. We're going to revisit another West Orange supermarket today, the 68,000-square-foot ShopRite of Essex Green. Originally coming to the blog in July 2018 (check out that link for before pictures), the Essex Green store has long been a favorite of mine. Recently, the store was significantly remodeled with virtually no changes outside and few changes to the layout, but some new fixtures and all-new decor. Storefront repainted and still looking great! Let's head in... Brand-new decor alright! (Incidentally, this decor is so new it's only in use in one other Village store, which I've also photographed and which will be coming to the blog in a little while.) The layout remains with the bakery next to the entrance. Great sign! I like the fonts they have used here. We can also see the bakery fixtures are all new or repainted. (Some of the bakery fixtures had already been replaced at the time of...

We originally saw Aron's West Orange, a Kosher supermarket, in November 2018 with a Look Inside from a contributor. I recently made it to the store myself, and rounded out our coverage with a few additional pictures. The outside has not really been changed much. The banner facing Eagle Rock Ave has been removed, leaving only this very small banner facing the parking lot. (If you're coming down Eagle Rock in the other direction, you're out of luck!) For an idea of the layout, the aisles run perpendicular to Eagle Rock. The produce department runs along both sides of the first aisle, with deli, butcher, and seafood on the back wall (in that order), frozen/dairy in the last aisle, and bakery and customer service in the front corner of the store opposite the entrance. While our contributor's photos were more focused on individual products and displays, I tried to get a better overview of the store. The produce aisle is quite impressive, and includes a large select...

As previously reported  (with a photo from an anonymous contributor), ALDI has opened at the Shoppes at Livingston Circle, in a space that previously housed a Fresh Market. Prior to that, the space along with about 25,000 square feet of additional space was occupied by Pathmark (closed 2011) and Grand Union (2001). Here's a look at the monument sign facing NJ-10 towards the Livingston Circle. Nice bold ALDI lettering there, although I'm surprised they didn't work in the yellow-orange color. They can put whatever they want on the sign, but I'll always remember it as The Village at Livingston anchored by Pathmark! The facade has not been significantly altered since it was The Fresh Market, which is likely due to restrictions by the landlord. It certainly does not have the standard ALDI appearance. The Pathmark took up the entire row we see here. You can see what the Pathmark looked like here . This is the first time The Market Report is going inside an ALDI...