The Independent Edition

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 !

Mahatam Mini Mart Owner: Pravin Patel Opened:  1989 Cooperative:  none Location:  1002 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA Photographed:  August 14, 2022 This small grocer is only 1300 square feet, and although this particular business has been here since 1989, I'm not sure how long it's been a grocery store. Back in the late 1910s and early 1920s, it was a real estate office, but unfortunately I can't find any records between 1923 and 1989. Our trip to Harrisburg is relatively brief, and unfortunately this is the last stop in the city itself for us. But don't worry, we're going to spend a few days wandering around the suburbs too, so head over to The Market Report tomorrow to check out our first Harrisburg suburb store!

Radish & Rye Food Hub Owner: Dusty & Julia James Opened:  2018 in Broad Street Market, 2020 here Cooperative:  none Location:  1308 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA Photographed:  August 14, 2022 Today's stop is very different from yesterday's . The Radish & Rye Food Hub is a small grocery store collecting local and artisan food items along with locally grown produce. The business was previously located at the Broad Street Market, a public market diagonally across the street from this storefront, and this storefront opened shortly after the Broad Street Market location closed in the summer of 2020. This is the only store of its kind in this part of the city, but there's another small grocer about three blocks south into downtown that we'll be checking out tomorrow!

YC Sayford Supermarket Owner: Yong Kwon Opened:  2006 Cooperative:  none Location:  1307 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA Photographed:  August 14, 2022 The only supermarket or large grocery store in midtown Harrisburg is the YC Sayford Supermarket at N 3rd St and Calder St. The 6700 square foot store looks like it may have previously been more of a supermarket than it is now, as it's really more of a large bodega these days. The history of the building is a bit murky, as back in 1931 this address was a Harley-Davidson dealership. (And in 1889, there was a piano and organ dealer here, although I have to assume not in this building.) By 1946, however, there was a business called Lee's Delicatessen at 1307 N 3rd St, and I can't find any records after that. When we enter the Sayford Supermarket, we can tell it's been a grocery store for quite some time. It's seen better days, but there's still some grocery items to choose from here. The back wall of the store is covered b...

Buckle up, we're headed to the state capital! Harrisburg and its surroundings are our next location to stop by, or about 35 miles west of Pine Grove where we saw the BG's and Berger's . It's not a particularly exhaustive look at the grocers in and around Harrisburg, but we will be seeing some very new and very old stores in the area. We're going to start by moving through the city north to south, then crossing the Susquehanna to the west to Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg, and Enola, then one final stop about 16 miles north in Millersburg. (It doesn't make a lot of sense to group it with Harrisburg, but there's nowhere else I could really put it.) Once we're done here, we're back to the Coal Region, but there's a lot of fun stuff to see in this part of the state. Get ready and check out our first store on Monday on Grocery Archaeology !