The Market Report

Stop & Shop Opened: between 1998 and 2001 Previous Tenants:  none Location:  100 Charlton Rd, Sturbridge, MA Photographed:  April 3, 2021 and November 22, 2023 Sturbridge has two supermarkets, a Shaw's and this Stop & Shop, which I suspect may have moved from a spot just up the street from here. It was constructed between 1998 and 2001 according to Historic Aerials, and has a pretty typical Super Stop & Shop layout. I don't know what decor packages this store has had over the years, but around 2015-18, it was renovated to a pretty no-frills version of the decor package it currently has. The grand aisle is on the right side of the store, with natural foods in the front right corner and deli lining the right side of the grand aisle. Produce is on the left. Meat and seafood line the back wall, with dairy and frozen on the left side. Bakery is in the front left corner. I don't believe there's a pharmacy here. The natural foods department here is quite extensiv...

Amazon Fresh Opened: June 20, 2024 Owner:  Amazon Previous Tenants:  Toys R Us Cooperative:  none Location:  137 NJ-35, Eatontown, NJ Photographed:  June 22, 2024 Amazon Fresh has had a bit of a tumultuous history. Analysts expected the e-commerce giant to revolutionize the grocery business when they first introduced their Amazon Fresh concept in 2020 with a store in California . Four years later, not only has Amazon had a minimal impact on the industry, but they've struggled to create a store that resonates with customers. I visited the Paramus location a few weeks ago and found it almost laughably bad, with rotting produce, sparse shelves, and weirdly high prices. (I can tolerate high prices at an independent grocer; there is no excuse from Amazon.) Well, in 2023, Amazon announced the chain was embarking on a revamp of the brand . A few stores would be renovated, the "Just Walk Out" technology would be phased out, and the format and product mix would change ...

Top Tomato Superstore Opened: June 20, 2024 Owner:  Buddy Sciandra Previous Tenants:  A&P > Norkus Foodtown > Shop n Bag > Garden Farm Cooperative:  none Location:  3105 US-9, Old Bridge, NJ Photographed:  June 22, 2024 Old Bridge is a hotspot for new grocery store openings, it seems! The ShopRite relocated to a gorgeous new facility in March, SuperFresh opened to the west in Browntown in early June, and now, Top Tomato has returned to New Jersey with a new store in what used to be Old Bridge's Garden Farm Market . (An Amazon Fresh also appears to be in progress just to the north, and the old ShopRite -- which you can see at the link above -- is being subdivided , and it's possible one of the spaces could become a supermarket.) This  Top Tomato has a very complicated history which I will attempt to recount here, but to be honest, it's extremely confusing even to me. The chain originated in 1979 as a large produce market in Bensonhurst, Broo...