Look Inside: Sea Bright Supermarket & Liquor - Sea Bright, NJ

Sea Bright Supermarket & Liquor

Owner: unknown

Opened: 2011 under current ownership

Cooperative: none

Location: 1160 Ocean Ave, Sea Bright, NJ

Photographed: January 2021

We are out on the peninsula occupied by Monmouth Beach, Sea Bright, and Sandy Hook (from south to north), really the northernmost shore resort area. It's an extremely narrow strip of land -- a mere 1200 feet or less than a quarter mile wide at Sea Bright Supermarket -- and this store is the only grocery store on the peninsula. The 11,000 square foot store, though, is more a liquor store with some grocery items. At some point in its life, it had been a Foodtown, but it's long since been independent.

I think it's fairly likely there was previously a Foodtown sign in place of where the Supermarket & Liquor sign is today. It's hard to tell exactly the store's history, but I can say that the right half of the store is about 8000 square feet, extending much farther back than the left half which is only 3300 square feet. The liquor is primarily in the left section, which we see above in the higher roof area, and the grocery section is to the right.

I present to you this look inside photographed in January, a real off-season for the Jersey Shore (as I'm sure you could guess). But judging by other reviews online of the store, it seems the experience actually remains pretty consistent seasonally. The store is not in great condition, to be honest, but it is important being the only grocery store on the peninsula.

The deli is on the right side wall, with frozen, produce, and dairy along the rest of the wall. There's virtually no produce here and very little stock overall, but once again I'm not sure whether that's different in the summer when vacationers fill the peninsula.

The few storebrand products that are present are Best Yet. Notice that we start with aisle 7, then count down to liquor on the left side of the store. Single-serve drinks line the back wall...

Soda on this side, liquor on the other side. Moving into the grocery aisles...

I'd be interested to know what the store looks like in peak season, and also what it had looked like in the past. It seems that the store once was much more of a full supermarket and it's been cut back, but I don't know that for sure and maybe it's always been this way.

As we can see, the grocery selection is clearly designed for vacationers who need to pick up a few items they forgot without going to the mainland, not for full shopping.

For an overview of the grocery aisles...

And the last grocery aisle begins the transition to liquor...

Now I consider this post a Look Inside instead of a store tour because I don't have any pictures of the front-end (which is set up like a convenience store with a single register) or the liquor department (which is just around the corner to the right here). That's all for Sea Bright, and up next we're heading to the south to Long Branch, the main city in this part of Monmouth County. Come back tomorrow for our next store here on The Independent Edition!