The Independent Edition

Mayfair Market by Hung Vuong Owner: Phat Mot Opened:  2019 Cooperative:  none Location:  6410-12 Frankford Ave, Mayfair, Philadelphia, PA Photographed:  December 2021 Just about a quarter mile west of yesterday's ShopRite is the 30,000 square foot Mayfair Market by Hung Vuong. The Asian supermarket chain opened up shop here in 2019 following the closure of the Mayfair Shop n Bag in 2017. The Mayfair Shop n Bag was one of two that outlasted the Shop n Bag cooperative, but the other is actually still going strong as part of Allegiance Retail, the cooperative that supports Foodtown, Green Way, Pathmark, and others. Hung Vuong Food Market already had two locations in Philadelphia at the time this store opened, and a fourth opened in 2020. I'm not sure about how this store compares to the others, but it felt like they were making an attempt to add some basic American groceries here alongside the imported Asian products to fill some of the need left by Shop n Bag, but ...

No. 1 Asian Supermarket Owner: unknown Opened:  2018 Cooperative:  none Location:  2842 St Vincent St, Mayfair, Philadelphia, PA Photographed:  July 2021 Not a great shot, but a picture nonetheless of the No. 1 Asian Supermarket just off of Roosevelt Blvd in Mayfair, Philadelphia. The 52,000 square foot building appears to be home to the supermarket and a food court. A while back, the space was home to National Wholesale Liquidators, then by 2012 the First Northeast International Market, which closed and was reopened by 2017 as the First Oriental Supermarket. And by late 2018, it had become the No. 1 Asian Supermarket. Out of curiosity, anybody know what this space was before National Wholesale Liquidators? (I remember going to their Linden, NJ location -- previously a Pathmark and later a Foodtown -- when I was little and loving their toy department.) These days, the No. 1 Asian Supermarket looks a little plain but large and nice inside. If you're interested in As...

Double Tree Market Owner: unknown Opened:  2016 Cooperative:  none Location:  3500 Cottman Ave, Mayfair, Philadelphia, PA Photographed:  July 2021 Just up the street from yesterday's former Penn Fruit is this small grocer, which looks to be in the range of roughly 1600 square feet. It's really more of a convenience store or a bodega than a supermarket, but there are so many small independent grocers like this one throughout Philadelphia. The balance of Philadelphia is very different from the balance of grocery stores in New York City, which I'm more familiar with -- NY has many more supermarkets, but they're much smaller . Philadelphia has fewer, but much larger , supermarkets. Okay, those are extreme examples, but you get the point. I'm sure this spot has been a grocery store for many decades, but prior to Double Tree's opening in 2016, it was the Party Time Deli & Grocery. Tomorrow, we're headed up to Roosevelt Blvd (US-1) for our first of two stores...