The Independent Edition

Bloomingdale Supermarket by Foodtown Owner: Adam Shapiro Opened:  January 5, 2024 Cooperative:  Allegiance Retail Services Location:  78 Main St, Bloomingdale, NJ Photographed:  January 8, 2024 After what felt like a long period of time with lots of Key Food updates, it seems like this latest round of updates has been heavy on the Krasdale! Here's a look at a store that's neither: Allegiance Retail Services (Foodtown/Pathmark/Green Way/Shop n Bag) has opened its latest store in the small northern New Jersey town of Bloomingdale, a store of just 8,000 square feet (although it may have basement space) that was built in the 1950s as a Big Leader Supermarket, then became a ShopRite in the 1960s, then a Pathmark before the store moved to the Kinnelon location that's now Stop & Shop in the 1970s. (It must have been quite the upgrade to go from 8,000 square feet to the Kinnelon location's original 40,000 square feet.) Other independents occupied the space after that, ...

Food World Supermarket Owner:  Willy Patel Opened:  unknown Cooperative:  IGA Location:  78 Main St, Bloomingdale, NJ Photographed:  August 2019 This very small store, which is in no way related to the New York chain of the same name, is located in the equally small town of Bloomingdale, located just off NJ-23 where we saw the Stop & Shop in Butler . Bloomingdale and this part of western Passaic County is decidedly less affluent than the southern and eastern parts of Passaic and Bergen Counties. It's hard to pinpoint exactly how large the store is, but I'd bet somewhere in the neighborhood of 6000 square feet. Also, it's actually a pitched-roof building, though the pitch is disguised and may actually encompass a neighboring storefront too. The facade was installed at some point around 2010, but even pre-renovation , it's near impossible to recognize the store as a former chain store. That's because it, in fact, wasn't. It was an early S...

Food World Supermarket Owner:  Harold Lee Opened:  2000 Cooperative:  Key Food Location:  119-14 Sutphin Blvd, Queens, NY Photographed:  December 2018 This 25,000 square foot store was built as a Big R Food Warehouse, as were the Food Bazaar locations on Manhattan Ave and Wyckoff Ave in Brooklyn (along with others we haven't covered). While Food Bazaar bought several Big R locations, Harold Lee's company Food Jungle Inc. bought this location in 2000. The chain has expanded with additional locations in Jamaica (north), Valley Stream , and Brooklyn , NY; and Bloomfield , Belleville, Roselle , Linden , and soon Hopelawn and Long Branch, NJ. A short-lived location in Garden City Park, NY has closed. Although Food World is no longer the discount store environment of Big R, it does have a value warehouse feeling to it. Produce and seafood make up the first aisle, with meats on the back wall and cold cuts in the first aisle. As usual, frozen food...

Food World Supermarket Owner:  Harold Lee Opened:  2014 Cooperative:  Key Food Stores Location:  500 W Merrick Rd, Valley Stream, NY Photographed:  December 2018 Another former Waldbaum's makes up today's store tour! This one became a Super Associated (unsure of who the owner was) in 2014, and was converted to Food World shortly thereafter. Food World, based in Jamaica, Queens, also has locations in Brooklyn, Jamaica, and New Jersey (under the SuperFresh banner). Buried under this facade is actually a centennial A&P. The storefront faces Merrick Road (to the left), with the side of the store being along the parking lot. Produce is in the first aisle, with meat and then seafood running along the back wall. Dairy and frozen are at the far end of the store, with deli/bakery in the front corner. Heading in, we see a simpler version of the decor in the New Jersey locations (see Bloomfield here and here ). While the location packs in a ...