The Independent Edition

Newark It's time for another look at the Universal Food Markets stores! The chain of stores has 10 locations under various names (Elizabeth x 2, Rahway, Newark, Orange, Hackensack x 2, Paterson x 2, Camden) of which 7 are Key Food-affiliated (the Hackensack Market in Hackensack and Super El Rey and Eagle Supermarket in Elizabeth are still not Key Food-affiliated). Newark, Orange, and Hackensack were previously Krasdale-affiliated. Newark was a Bravo, and Hackensack and Orange were CTowns. These days, those three are Key Food-affiliated Universal Food Markets joining older locations in Rahway, Paterson, and Camden. While there hasn't been a lot changed in this store, we see new banners temporarily affixed on top of the Bravo logos outside. Inside, there hasn't been much of a change other than replacing the lighting -- a much-needed improvement. This store is clean and well-stocked and seems to be a bit better-run than Orange, although it's quite small. The fixtures we...

Food Depot Supermarkets Owner: Nick Gonzalez Opened:  2012 Cooperative:  Krasdale Foods Location:  75 1st St, Central Ward, Newark, NJ Photographed:  July 2021 We return to Newark's Central Ward to see some updates at the Food Depot Supermarket! This store opened in 2012 in what had been an indoor flea market but going back long ago was a Foodtown and then a Good Deal supermarket. Check out my original tour here from 2018. The whole store hasn't been remodeled, but there are some significant upgrades which we'll be taking a look at now. There are two entrances. The main entrance is closer to First Street, while this one is in the back where most of the parking is. The main entrance takes us into produce... ...which looks a lot like how we saw it previously, just a bit brighter. The department has been reset with what look like a few new cases in the middle, but the ceiling has also been painted white and the flooring (throughout the store) has been replaced with a ...

Extra Supermarket Owner: Alberto Mendez Opened:  2018 under current ownership; 1980s under previous ownership Cooperative:  none Location:  327 Lyons Ave, Weequahic, NJ Photographed:  July 2020 Today we'll be touring the second Extra Supermarket in Newark (see the other, newer store which is under different ownership here ). This approximately 19,000 square foot store was built in the mid-1960s as a Supermarkets General-owned ShopRite, which in 1968 converted to Pathmark. By the 1980s, the new Pathmark had been constructed just across the highway on Lyons Avenue. Today, it's a SuperFresh but is not in fact owned by Food Jungle, I was incorrect in that post. Anywho, although this store is much smaller than the SuperFresh that's just a quarter of a mile west, it's still popular and the area is densely populated enough to support both stores. Like the East Orange, Dover, and Maplewood locations, this store was previously owned by the father of the owner of Avon, Jerse...

Extra Supermarket Owner:  Mitchel Lopez Opened:  ca. 2005 Cooperative:  Retail Grocers Group Location:  125 Avon Ave, Central Ward, Newark, NJ Photographed:  January 2019 Our next store tour in Newark is this store in the Central Ward. Until the ShopRite of Newark opened in 2015, it was the largest supermarket in this part of the city at about 32,000 square feet (the ShopRite is over 70,000). It's part of a remarkably ugly strip mall  and the property immediately backs up to an abandoned  public housing complex . The city has invested heavily in this part of Newark, one of the last areas to redevelop after the 1967 riots that cleared out most of the city, with projects like the beautification of Irvine Turner Boulevard , which runs along the side of the supermarket's property. Huge swaths of the city's blocks after blocks of abandoned storefronts, factories, and residential buildings have been bulldozed and replaced with new residence...