The Market Report

bfresh Open: 2017-2023 Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  assorted non-grocery tenants Later Tenants:  H Mart (2024- ) Cooperative:  none Location:  240 Elm St, Somerville, MA Photographed:  July 21, 2019 Time for another bfresh! We saw the Allston location a few weeks ago, and you should definitely check out that post before reading this one to familiarize yourself with the bfresh concept along with the Stop & Shop-owned chain's history. The brand appears to have been retired, since there aren't currently any stores under that banner, but it's possible the chain will bring it back in the future. This Davis Square location, like the Allston one, was quite beautiful and was one of the longer-lived bfresh stores. It opened in 2017 as the third bfresh location, I believe, and made it all the way to 2023. It closed in September 2023 . Korean supermarket H Mart opened up in January of this year, and unfortunately I haven't been since its opening. Ch...

bfresh Open: 2015-2019 Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  Staples (closed 2015) Later Tenants:  CVS (2020- ) Cooperative:  none Location:  214 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA Photographed:  June 21, 2019 Welcome to bfresh! Yes, the chain called itself that (not Bfresh, or bFresh, or B-Fresh, or...) and the brand was introduced right here in Allston in 2015. It was a specialty, small-format fresh supermarket run by Stop & Shop in a division called Fresh Formats, which also briefly ran Everything Fresh  in Philadelphia. This roughly 13,000 square foot former Staples was given an extensive renovation to open as a fresh-focused supermarket, and Stop & Shop clearly thought the bfresh format had promise. Unfortunately, customers didn't exactly feel the same way. A much smaller, 8600 square foot store opened in Fairfield, CT in November 2015, closing just months later in April 2016. August 2016 brought a location to Brighton at 470 Washington Stree...

Stop & Shop / bfresh Opened: 2018 - August 2024 Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  assorted non-grocery tenants Cooperative:  none Location:  165 Needham St, Newton, MA Photographed:  January 12, 2025 We return to the Newton Stop & Shop (later bfresh)  to see it after its closure last August. The signage has all been removed and the interior is in the process of being demolished now. Trader Joe's is rumored to be taking over the space. They've said they are looking at another location in Newton -- they already have one -- but they haven't specified the location. You can see the outline of the old bfresh sign here. The interior has been completely stripped, so whoever is moving in will be starting from scratch. That sounds like Trader Joe's, but they haven't confirmed it. (They also have a tiny store just south in Needham.) Check out the thank you and see you soon sign above the exit door -- practically the only remnant of Stop & Shop...