TOUR: Grade A Market - Newfield, Stamford, CT

Grade A Market

Owner: Tom Cingari

Opened: 2001 (?)

Cooperative: Wakefern Food Corp.

Location: 563 Newfield Ave, Newfield, Stamford, CT

Photographed: May 2019

The other Grade A Market, also a former Grand Union, is just over half a mile from yesterday's Grade A. While I do know this one is also a former Grand Union, it seems to be an earlier conversion to Grade A given the logo on the outside. The Hope St location's sign seems much more recent than this one, and to my knowledge it never had this older sign.

At about 24,000 square feet, this store is slightly larger than the Hope Street location. The store model resembles an A&P Centennial, but it is not. Let's head in -- here's a look at the layout from a diagram posted on a wall inside:

You enter in the bottom left with produce in the first aisle. An alcove towards the back has deli/bakery on the side wall, with seafood on the back wall. Meat runs along the back wall with butcher towards the right side. Asian and Latin foods in the first aisle with Polish foods in the back corner. Dairy and frozen line the last aisle, with additional grocery in a front alcove.

The produce department isn't too spacious, but it's a nice selection. You can also notice that all the price signs and promotional signs have the ShopRite logo, although the store runs its own circular without the ShopRite logo.

Moving towards the back of the store, we have deli, bakery, and seafood in a back corner.

Despite the store's relatively small size, there is an in-store bakery (notice the small service counter to the far left above). The deli runs along the rest of the left-side wall.

No department signage in this part of the store, I'm assuming because of the low ceiling.

We do have a department sign for seafood here! Somehow this isn't as depressing as Danbury's decor, though it's possible that's just because I know this store is almost 20 years older. We're looking along the back wall here with meats up next.

Interesting that there's a separate natural and organic meat department, as I don't recall seeing one in the grocery aisles. The larger Grade A stores have a separated natural/organic aisle. Many (most?) other ShopRites have natural foods integrated with the conventional groceries -- which, by the way, I strongly prefer -- but that doesn't seem all that common in Connecticut compared to New Jersey.

Butcher shop actually looking pretty good! There is in fact decor! Not attractive decor, but you win some, you lose some. Either way, that meat case is looking pretty nice.

Given that this shelving is identical to what my local ShopRite had before its latest remodel, I'd assume it was installed by Grade A either at the time of opening or at one of their renovations.

Looking back towards the deli/seafood corner.

Oddly, the small Polish selection is not in the international aisle, but instead tucked away in the back corner of the store.

Dairy and frozen in the last aisle, with additional frozen in the second-to-last aisle. The frozen cases actually look very new.

Photography without... well, you know... people... was difficult. The store was very crowded during the after-work rush. I was here around 5:15pm.

Heading into the front corner alcove under this clock which is very cool! Except for the fact that it's impossible to read "Grade A Market". Oh yeah, and that it's actually showing the wrong time, it's an hour off. But, you know. Details.

Dairy cases line the back of the alcove, with grocery in the front part.

The front end is very bright, both because of the fact that everything is white and the fact that there are huge windows lining the whole front wall.

Customer service and a very old-school open air manager's booth on the front end near the entrance. That wraps up our tour of this Grade A, with a former A&P Centennial coming up tomorrow on The Market Report before we head out of Stamford!