The Independent Edition

Subzi Mandi Cash & Carry Owner: Jagir Singh Opened:  2002 Cooperative:  none Location:  1518 Oak Tree Rd, Iselin, Woodbridge, NJ Photographed:  June 2020 Finishing up our coverage of Oak Tree Road between Edison ( Apna Bazar , Patel Bros , India Grocers ) and Iselin ( Patel Bros again , Asian Grocery , and this store). This store was built in the 1960s as a ShopRite, and I think it's a fair assumption that it was owned by the Sitar family, who today own the ShopRite over in Carteret  -- though I could be wrong. I have a gap between the 1980s, when the store moved down the street to the building that's now India Grocers, and 2003 when this store opened, and I don't know what the store was in that period. But I can tell you that the building used to look a heck of a lot more like a 1960s-era ShopRite than it does now. Inside, I'm assuming absolutely nothing remains from ShopRite, but outside, we have remnants from a different chain... Like many Supremos, thi...

Asian Grocery Owner: Abdul Paracha Opened:  2012 Cooperative:  none Location:  1547 Oak Tree Rd, Iselin, Woodbridge, NJ Photographed:  June 2020 The smallest of the grocery stores along Oak Tree Road, Asian Grocery did not appear on my list of stores as I was planning out my trip. I then attempted to get into it from Patel Brothers by crossing the side street, but you can't enter the parking lot. Anyway, I figured when I finally could get in, it would be worth visiting, if only for completion of this stretch of the road. Until 2019, it appears this store was operating under the name Bestway Cash & Carry -- which opened before 2012, so it's possible the store changed ownership in 2012. Produce and dairy/refrigerated foods take up approximately the left 1/3 of the store, with the right 2/3 being grocery aisles and frozen foods at the far right side of the store. Tempting as it is to say, I do not believe that "THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH US" sign is secondhand fro...