The Independent Edition

Kimberton Whole Foods Owner: Terry Brett Opened:  2019 Cooperative:  INFRA Location:  4010 Durham Rd, Ottsville, PA Photographed:  July 22, 2021 Today's post is a really exciting store -- at least to me! This is our second time visiting a Kimberton Whole Foods natural market, with our first stop back in Downingtown in the Lancaster County area. That store was fine, but didn't do much for me. This 18,000 square foot, four-year-old location really blew me away, though, and a big part of that was the produce department. As we'll see, there's a lot of really unique local stuff here. The store also features a restaurant on the side with its own entrance. For the supermarket, we enter in the middle of the storefront and turn right for produce and bulk foods on the right side wall. Meats and dairy are on the back wall, with frozen foods in the second-to-last aisle and bakery/prepared foods in the last aisle. There's a coffee shop/cafe in the front left corner, with HABA ...

Dublin IGA Owner: Mike Flagello Opened: as IGA 1982, as Great Valu 1990s, as Shop n Bag 2000s, again as IGA 2016-2021 Cooperative:  IGA Location:  161 N Main St, Dublin, PA Photographed:  July 22, 2021 Okay folks, let's get through some history before we really get into this store. This store opened as a new-build in 1982 under the IGA cooperative, then in the 1990s the owners switched to Great Valu Markets before changing to Shop n Bag the following decade. When the Thriftway/Shop n Bag cooperative dissolved in 2016, the store returned to IGA before closing in 2021. This charming small-town IGA was around 22,000 square feet, and as we'll see remained a lot of its old-fashioned character until the end although it had gotten a few small upgrades. The decor had been updated slightly with new signage as we see below, but the fixtures are clearly not updated. Despite its age, the Dublin IGA was a pleasant, well-maintained small-town grocery store. What appears to have done i...