The Independent Edition

  Having completed the Harrisburg area, we're now headed off to summer break! We've got three weeks off from regular posting, during which time we might be checking out some updates and other notable news, but on July 17th we're back and resuming our visit to the Coal Region. Lots more to come (and to be honest... I didn't have a lot of time in the spring to write, so this is also to help me catch up writing)! In the meantime, enjoy the weather and the beach, or however you might be spending your summer and I'll see you soon!

BG's Value Market Owner: Dianne Koval Opened:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  301 S Market St, Millersburg, PA Photographed: August 15, 2022 Our final Harrisburg-area store... which isn't really in the Harrisburg area, but about 20 miles north along the Susquehanna River... is the third of four BG's Value Markets out there, with two we've already seen in Minersville and Pine Grove , and a fourth I haven't been to yet. I don't know much about the history of this store, but the roughly 25,000 square foot store appears to have had an expansion on the left side, visible above. It's not really noticeable inside, which means the store was renovated most recently at the time of the expansion or after it. Here's what the property looks like from the main street. I'm assuming the beige siding parts on the facade were originally windows, but it's hard to tell. We enter on either side of the foyer to produce on the right side of the store, bakery i...

Apna Bazar Farmers Market Owner: Himanshu Bajaj Opened:  2022 Cooperative:  none Location:  85 Gateway Dr, Mechanicsburg, PA Photographed:  August 14, 2022 Today's post is a quick look at the Apna Bazar Farmers Market in Mechanicsburg, PA, taking the roughly 19,000 square foot space previously occupied by Grocery Outlet . Just last year, the Indian supermarket opened in the closed Grocery Outlet, which moved a bit south in 2022. It appears to be related to the Apna Bazar we saw in Edison , but as I mentioned on that post, it's very hard to tell for sure. It doesn't look like Apna Bazar is reusing much if anything from Grocery Outlet. While there are plenty more supermarkets in Mechanicsburg, that's all we'll be seeing this time around, and tomorrow we're headed just north to Enola for a look at a relatively new store over on The Market Report !

Shop Fresh Marketplace Owner: Nick Nasser Opened:  March 3, 2023 Cooperative:  Great Valu Markets Location:  7 Naughright Rd, Hackettstown, NJ Photographed:  June 13, 2023 We return to Shop Fresh Marketplace of Hackettstown, which opened in March in a former A&P on route 46 just outside of the town. In fact, I attended the soft opening on its first day in business, March 3rd. An official ribbon-cutting was later held on April 1st. I returned to the store on June 13th to find the store well on its way to going out of business. Think I'm exaggerating? I was one of two customers in the store and found the shelves mostly empty... While the store is still very attractive, it is also clearly soon to close. Social media posts as far back as late April show shelves beginning to empty out, and clearly that process has only continued. Most of the service departments have closed, too, leaving only the deli in operation. All the prepared foods are gone... ...and although ...

Food Depot Supermarkets Owner: Orfilio Chaviano and Nick Gonzalez Opening:  2023 Cooperative:  Krasdale Foods Location:  325 Washington Ave, Belleville, NJ Photographed:  June 14, 2023 Food Depot Supermarkets is preparing to open its third store, joining existing locations in Newark and Kearny. The Kearny store is quite nice although much smaller than Newark, and I've photographed it but haven't quite gotten to post it yet. Food Depot is also rumored to be working on a fourth location, in the former Western Beef in East Orange, but I'm not clear on how close to opening that store is, or if it's even happening. More on that here . This store of roughly 10,000 square feet was built in 1942 as an ACME which closed in the 1980s, and was then a Walgreens for a long time before closing around 2020 to be replaced by a new store at 175 Washington, about a third of a mile south, on a property originally housing a ShopRite turned Pathmark, then an Associated, then the Motor...

Food Depot Supermarkets Owner: Orfilio Chaviano and Nick Gonzalez Opening:  not yet announced Cooperative:  Krasdale Foods Location:  1 Main St, East Orange, NJ Photographed:  June 14, 2023 and July 25, 2021 Well, it's not the greatest picture (just out of a bus window) but here's a look at what will soon be the Food Depot in East Orange. The store was for a long time the Western Beef , although the store closed around 2020 and a banner went up on the old building announcing Food Depot was coming soon, a local chain with locations in Newark , Kearny, and Belleville coming soon . While there hasn't been any signage installed subsequently -- and unlike Belleville, there's nothing on the Food Depot website about this location -- there's been substantial renovation progressing around the building. The shot above is from just a few days ago but I realized I had photographed the store pretty extensively during its major construction but never posted the pictures. Those a...