The Market Report

On last week's Ashley Marketplace post , I mentioned that the location was previously part of the Eden Gourmet chain. One of the few remaining locations of Eden Gourmet is this store at 7 E 14th St, Manhattan, NY. I visited this store, operating under the Garden of Eden banner, and was thoroughly unimpressed with its selection, prices, and service. However, the store is very attractive and is a better alternative to the nearby Gristedes .

To this day, my grandmother still has a box of America's Choice instant oatmeal in her pantry. Given her local Pathmark's tendency to keep products on the shelves well after they expired, it's not unlikely that it expired before Pathmark went under. Interesting. This is from an even older package of instant oatmeal that she also had. I always liked the circular America's Choice logo and I didn't think the banner version was an improvement.

The A&P-owned SuperFresh of Plainsboro, NJ closed in 2013, leaving the town of 23,000 residents with one grocery store, an Asian Food Markets location. The issue was hot enough that a Facebook page was even started to emphasize that " Plainsboro Needs a Supermarket ". So when it was announced that a Key Food-operated gourmet-focused Food Emporium would open in 42,000 square feet of the former SuperFresh, residents were thrilled. Except they got this instead. That's right, it's a new SuperFresh (opened 02/23/18)! A Key Food-operated SuperFresh owned by our old friend Kevin Kim -- whose SuperFresh locations in Garwood and Edison were, um, explosive. In that they lasted a short time and then disappeared. To be fair, Kim owns successful supermarkets in New York City, although it's become clear at this point that he not only specializes in running stores in lower-income urban areas with large Hispanic and Caribbean populations, but that that's the only ...

Not too long ago we saw the original Village Super Market in South Orange, NJ. While the second Village store was located in East Orange, possibly where the Extra Supermarket is now, at 563 Central Ave , another early Village store is here on Scotland Rd in Orange. I visited the store at night, but the property was very well-lit. Orange isn't the greatest area, but the property was clean, well-maintained, and bright. The brightly-lit signs and large colorful pictures brighten up the storefront--otherwise, it would be pretty dingy. Parking lines the front of the store and continues to the back. Probably the store's coolest feature is the wall of windows facing the cross street. This is probably left over from when the store was a Village ShopRite, but it's great both from the outside and the inside. You can also get a glimpse of the interior here. It's the same decor that we saw at the NSA in New London and also the 33rd St Fine Fare in Union City...