Once an A&P, always an A&P. This store opened in the 70's or 80's. It was one of the first conversions to FoodBasics (owned by the Canadian Metro Company, which A&P partnered with at the time) in the mid 2000's, right after the recession. Stores in lower-income areas were converted to this model to have bargains and support the neighborhoods. It was a pretty good business model.
Also, notice anything interesting about this store? Yep, that's right... that's a 2010 A&P cart corral... still being used today. These were used at A&P's newer or higher-volume locations like Doylestown, West Milford, and Pompton Lakes at the time.
Key Food Superfresh still uses FoodBasics' carts... odd. If I were opening a supermarket, I'd make sure that if I got it from another tenant, everything would be washed away from them-- defunct or not. Plus, it doesn't take that much money to replace or scrape off the logo on the cart handles. A simple decal can even do... or no handle!
Bilingual signs are used in this FoodBasics decor.
Superfresh added the flags along the produce department, but all the cases are as-is from FoodBasics.
What a beautiful sight! This store has one of the largest produce departments I've ever seen in a FoodBasics... it's ridiculous. The produce must be very fresh.
Refrigerator cases line the back wall near the entrance.
At the time when The Market Report was taking these pictures, the store hadn't opened the service departments yet. Apparently it's optional when you're opening a supermarket... who would've thought?
More warehouse-like black shelving left over from FoodBasics. A lot of stores use shelves like these now. When FoodBasics first opened, I bet everyone thought these shelves were odd. I sure thought they were the first time I saw them.
Key Food now apparently owns the slogan "The Savings Never Stop" which is left over from FoodBasics. I'm surprised they just didn't license the FoodBasics name... they could've saved a lot of money transitioning these stores over to Superfresh. Plus, it would probably resonate more with the customers to see a familiar brand.
"Dairy & Eggs" is in an alcove near the right side of the store.
More Dairy footage here... and FoodBasics carts.
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An Ice Cream alcove with Toilet Paper under it... yum.
Front end is almost brand new... Key Food replaced the checkout lights, but not the registers or signage.
If you zoom into the photo, you can see that Mio Water Enhancers are $4.39... Now I don't usually do price comparisons here, but when I see markups, I have to. I sometimes buy Mio at Acme or Stop & Shop for $2.99 at most... but $4.39 is ridiculous. It's 3 ounces of liquid, for crying out loud!
We here at P's and Q's wish Farmboy Superfresh the best of luck in the brutal competition of the markets!
Paterson, NJ
A&P > FoodBasics > Key Food Superfresh
FoodBasics of Getty Avenue
465 Getty Ave.Paterson, NJ
A&P > FoodBasics > Key Food Superfresh
Thanks for using my photos! I have some updated ones on the blog that I haven't posted on Flickr yet, which you can see here: http://njsupermarkets.blogspot.com/2018/06/revisit-superfresh-paterson-nj.html
ReplyDeleteNot much has changed, although the service departments are now opened (they were open within 6 months of the store's soft opening, but I just hadn't gotten back), the carts are new, and there's now a floral department.
I've seen your post-- I schedule my posts a few weeks in advance, so it may tend to be a little bit outdated. Thanks for the link!
DeleteGot it, I do the same!
DeleteIt may be that (for the most part), Key is operated by independent owners as a cooperative (similar to ShopRite).
ReplyDeleteThus, some owners may just not have (or want to spend) the money to change what are basically "decorative" things (like the name on the cart or signs in the store) if they are still functional as is?
That has shown up in ShopRite as well, as you'll still find a few smaller operators (often with only one or two stores) that have older locations and haven't seen a need to upgrade them.
Agreed, Will. Unfortunately, I don't get the point of opening a supermarket if it's a "Good Deal". At least make it nice for customers. Carts aren't that expensive... (You could even save them by replacing the handles for $2/piece blank) but cart corrals I could see saving (They can be up to $3,000/piece). My main critique of Key Food operators is one simple thing: they open way too many stores with too little money. Make it new... it'll give 'em a lot more business.
DeleteBut the reason that Key Food has become the market leader in NYC is only because they open too many stores. Yes, there are plenty that fail -- you could consider that trimming the fat -- but most stick. The A&P bankruptcy time (2015-present) was/is Key Food's third entrance into the NJ market, and while they've had as many store failures as in the past, this time they have many times the number of stores in NJ that they had in the past (24 stores right now, but almost 30, including failures). So 4 or 5 failures of 4 or 5 stores is a big deal, but 4 or 5 failures of 25 or 30 isn't. Personally, I think Key Food's strategy is pretty smart -- open a bunch of stores, and if they don't work, don't linger on them.
Delete