The Market Report

I'm sure there are other people who have driven by a store a thousand times but you never go in. That's the case with this store for me. I can't say the store's facade is too exciting. Or the name, for that matter. Regardless, Asian Food Markets is a successful chain with seven New Jersey and New York locations. I'd driven past the Supremo in Irvington so many times also, on the Parkway, until I eventually just decided to go there one day. So maybe I'll do the same here...stay tuned!

Back in the good old days, before A&P, the Pathmark brand was known as a good alternative to name brands. Then America's Choice came in and no one seemed to like it very much. This is the label from a bottle of Pathmark white vinegar probably sold not too long before the A&P acquisition. I don't have an exact date on it, but my guess would be about 2005. Unfortunately, I never had the bottle, just the label.

Coming back to this store in Fairview, NJ. I visited for the first time over the summer of 2016, when it first opened as a Key Food Marketplace. In May 2017, we saw a full tour of the store, plus some pictures from Facebook of it as a SuperFresh. I decided to go back in April 2018 to see if anything really had changed. As we'll see, some things had. First and most importantly, a real sign has been installed on the awning. The carts have gotten...stranger, since my cart was a Winn-Dixie cart with full logos and even a store directory. Entering, we find that the grand aisle looks mostly the same. The promotional Food Basics signs with Key Food stickers have been replaced with real SuperFresh signs. In the grand aisle, at least. The produce here is excellent, and cheap. The nearby Food Bazaar's produce is just excellent. The seafood department looks virtually the same as well. It's nice to see that it has not been downsized. The sushi counter and juice bar are g...

One of the most often-cited examples of successful efforts to bring supermarkets into food deserts of New Jersey is the Food Depot in Newark. This store opened as a new-build, 31,000 square foot facility in Newark's Central Ward in 2012. The following video from PBS gives a pretty good look at the background of the store during its grand opening.   And for an idea of what the property looked like before Food Depot came, check out this street view from Google Maps. Future Food Depot Supermarket, 75B 1st St, Newark, NJ. Google Maps street view from 2007. When I visited in the fall of 2017, I was happy to find a large, clean, and full-service supermarket. It hasn't really fallen apart since the opening. Food Depot is a member of AIM (Association of Independent Merchants) within Krasdale. They do have a cool LED animated sign on the street! There are two entrances. The main one here, closer to First St, leads to produce, deli/hot food, and a new bakery...