Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from June, 2022

Coming Soon!

  There's no good reason to put Woodbridge and Fredericksburg together in a grouping of supermarkets, beyond the fact that they're the two places in northeastern Virginia that I've actually photographed. So that's a good enough reason for me! We'll be checking out a store in Fredericksburg and seven about 30 miles to the north in Woodbridge, over the next week or so, and I have some pretty interesting stuff around here. This is a quick collection of stores, captured on my travels to and from Charleston, so a lot of the posts will be pretty short. That doesn't mean there isn't a lot to see, though! After this, we'll spend a little bit of time in the DC and Baltimore suburbs before jumping into Pennsylvania, beginning in the Philadelphia area. Lots of fun stuff coming up in the next few... days? Weeks? Months? All of the above, so head over to The Market Report tomorrow to check out our Fredericksburg store! In the meantime, check out today's updates

Update: Armata's Market - Longmeadow, MA

Armata's Market Owner:  Alexis Vallides Opened:  1963-2021 Cooperative:  IGA Location:  901 Shaker Rd, Longmeadow, MA Photographed:  May 2022 Contributor:  Cole Our contributor Cole once again brings us photo updates of the burned-down Armata's Market in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, between Springfield, MA and Enfield, CT. We last saw his pictures in December, with the rubble just piled up immediately following the store's fire. The rubble has all been cleared although a few walls remain. Cole says he believes the walls will have to be removed before any new construction begins. And new construction is definitely in the plans, according to owner Alexis Vallides. She was recently interviewed by a local news outlet and explained that their hope is to be open for real in about a year. Until then, they're in a temporary storefront down in Enfield. But there's a lot more for us to see today, so make sure to check out the full list here !

Look Inside: HUM Grocery - Wadmalaw Island, SC

HUM Grocery Owner: Natalie & Andrew Humphrey Opened:  2021 Cooperative:  none Location:  6998 Maybank Hwy, Wadmalaw Island, SC Photographed:  January 2022 As we leave Charleston on Maybank Highway, we'll first hit the Harris Teeter at Maybank and Folly on James Island, then enter Johns Island to see the Food Lion and KJ's . At KJ's, we can turn left (south) to head towards Kiawah Island, or continue straight to cross over to Wadmalaw Island. All the way at the far southern tip of Wadmalaw Island is this building, which for decades was home to P. M. King's grocery, which closed not long ago but has been revitalized recently as HUM Grocery. Just a note on geography before we get into this amazing store. We're only about two and a half miles as the crow flies west of Freshfields Village , but to drive it you have to take a full trip of 22 miles, via Johns Island (where KJ's is). So this store is out at the far end of the island, and in a pretty remote area.

Look Inside: The Market - Kiawah Island, SC

The Market Owner: Kiawah Island Opened:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  5480 Sea Forest Dr, Kiawah Island, SC Photographed:  January 2022 Kiawah Island is an upscale, private resort island and the main attraction is a large golf resort . The only grocery store of any kind within the gates of the island is The Market at Town Center, which is an interesting combination of convenience store and cafeteria. It seems to work quite well for what vacationers and residents are looking for. Plus, for large orders, I'm sure many stop at the Village Market by Harris Teeter just outside Kiawah Island. This store appears to be owned by the resort, as are all the restaurants (and all the businesses...?) on Kiawah Island. It's also considered to be the most, um, affordable dining option on the island. Other options include The Ocean Room, where a 12oz New York Strip steak will cost you $75 . In the front of the store is some Kiawah Island merchandise, with a few tables of grocery item

Look Inside: The Market at Storey Farms - Johns Island, SC

The Market at Storey Farms Owner: Jeremy Storey Opened:  2014 Cooperative:  none Location:  3388 Trumpet Rd, Johns Island, SC Photographed:  January 2022 Okay, I admit: this is not exactly a grocery store. So if you're not interested, feel free to skip today's post and head over to The Market Report for a boring ol' supermarket tour tomorrow. But I had a good time here, and I thought I should share that. The Market at Storey Farms, pictured above, is a farmstand and small food stand at Storey Farms, which is a functional farm (that you can read all about here ). They produce eggs, chicken, and pork, and also sell other local products and prepared foods. The Market is under a large tent, meaning it's all outdoors -- something we of course could not have up in the northeast for climate reasons. But we also got to say hello to some of the animals who live here... ...including a few baby goats, who were having a grand old time in their enclosure out by the road, Betsy Ker

Look Inside: Blackbird Market - Johns Island, SC

Blackbird Market Owner:  Billy & Delana Hayes Opened:  ca. 2013 Cooperative:  none Location:  1808 Bohicket Rd, Johns Island, SC Photographed:  January 2022 Just across the street from yesterday's KJ's Market , we find ourselves in the tiny Blackbird Market. This high-end, farmstand-like market has a little bit of a lot of things: produce, meat, seafood, baked goods, and prepared foods. I must say that the bakery items I sampled were quite delicious. The store opened around 2013 in what used to be a tire shop. And if you're interested in the farmstand/local gourmet items type of store, we have another one tomorrow to check out about eight miles south on Johns Island. Come back tomorrow to check that one out!

TOUR: Bert's Market - Folly Beach, SC

Bert's Market Owner: Omar Colon Opened:  1994 Cooperative:  none Location:  202 E Ashley Ave, Folly Beach, SC Photographed:  January 2022 There's only grocery store out here on Folly Island, and we're in luck -- because it's a really great one! The 6600 square foot Bert's Market seems to cater both to tourists and locals, based on its selection with equal parts food to go and regular groceries. It's also got a liquor store inside and has small but complete selections of produce, grocery, dairy, frozen, deli, bakery, meat, and even sushi. The store seems to be more or less divided into two halves. On the left is the liquor store in front with grocery and frozen behind. On the right is the perishables: produce, dairy, meat, bakery/deli, and prepared foods. Above, the view is looking left immediately inside the entrance. There's plenty of snack items, probably intended mostly for tourists, but there are also real grocery items... This store, by the way, uses Fo

Look Inside: Burbage's Self Service Grocery - Charleston, SC

Burbage's Self Service Grocery Owner: Lisa & George Bowen Opened:  2013 under current ownership, 1946 previously Cooperative:  none Location:  157 Broad St, Downtown, Charleston, SC Photographed:  January 2022 Much like the Coming Market and the Coming Street Grocery, Burbage's Self Service Grocery is a wonderful historically preserved grocery store in downtown Charleston. We're closer to what might be considered the main business district here, towards the southern part of the city. Burbage's opened in 1946 and in 1987 was taken over by the owner's son, Al Burbage, who owned the store until 2013 when it was sold to Lisa and George Bowen. They've owned it since. Very unfortunately, Burbage's was temporarily closed when I was in town, I believe due to the owners being on vacation or something like that. But I did manage to get some excellent pictures of the classic interior through the front windows. As we see, it's a very historical grocery store b