Super Fresh in DC

Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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Ephrata1966
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Super Fresh in DC

Post by Ephrata1966 »

When was the A&P on 48th Street in DC built? This is now the only Super Fresh in DC city limits (not sure if they used to have more). And it reminds me of a couple A&Ps in North Jersey. What is odd is that locals rave about the wine at this store. By law, does that wine have to be in an enclosed room? In New York state, grocery stores can only sell beer. PA/NJ/DE, it has to be "non-alcoholic" beer or wine in most circumstances. Maryland, the laws vary by county. Grocery stores, even convenience stores/gas stations in some parts of the state stock a lot of beer. I only know Virginia has ABC stores for spirits.
maynesG
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Re: Super Fresh in DC

Post by maynesG »

I can!t answer about sf in DC. The law in New Jersey was changed over a decade ago. A&P in Closter,Palisades Park,Cliffside Park, Dumont ( The original Store not the Finast) and about twenty others all had full Liquor liscenses. Finast in Hackensack had a full Liscense. These stores are grand Fathered. Some of the smaller stores became stand alone A&P liquor stores or were sold to independent Liquor stores.
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rich
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Location: Washington, DC

Re: Super Fresh in DC

Post by rich »

DC does not have any requirements for wine departments. They appear as ordinary parts of aisles in supermarkets. Maryland has a complicated set of regulations. I don't know about other counties, but Montgomery County has its own county liquor stores which sell beer and wine. Otherwise, beer and line sales are restricted to four groceries which were grandfathered in based on prior regulations. Montgomery County folks shop in DC where all kinds of liquor are cheaper, with better selections.

There are other Super Fresh stores in the DC area. They built a new one in the Cherry Hill area a few years ago, but otherwise the numbers have dwindled. A&P had a rather small footprint in DC, even 40 -50 years ago; if there were others in the District, they would have closed in the 80s. The 48th St NW store opened in the early 60s and was remodeled a few years ago, with the sales floor opened into what had probably been the former meat department or a storage area---the ceiling is noticably lower there. A new truck entrance was added to the front along with a small frontward extension of the facade, although the storage space is largely below the sales floor. The store was built into a hillside with the store and parking lot on top and the backroom on the bottom. Behind it, on Massachusetts Ave, is a small shopping center that once had a Safeway (now a CVS) and like a few early centers also includes a gas station. The Super Fresh makes use of every square foot possible and the customer service is rather tiny. There are only 6 or 7 aisles. My guess is that this was the 13,000 sf version of the Centennial, which was built in small towns and inner city locations. It used to have the standard Centennial facade. There isn't is much space for a big wine selection---DC has a number of places like the Calvert-Woodley liquor store on Connecticut Ave that could easily eclipse the pricing and selection.

When I was there a few months ago, the store clientele skewed toward the profoundly elderly. i would imagine that it also draws students from American University, which is adjacent. The store has no immediate competition and that may be enough to keep it going.
Last edited by rich on 14 Dec 2010 16:49, edited 1 time in total.
Bearhawke
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Location: Phx area, Arizona

Re: Super Fresh in DC

Post by Bearhawke »

Ephrata1966 wrote:What bugs me is that PA people go to NJ and DE where the "liquor" stores sell more beer, cigarettes, and lottery tickets than wine and spirits.

And I never knew there was a Montgomery County in Maryland... but I am familiar with the one in PA, born in the one in Texas. The only Cherry Hill I knew of was the one in NJ. You could compare it to Falls Church in the DC area. By the way, the Virginia suburbs just won in a "better place to live" study, beating out Maryland.
I lived in Montgomery County, Md (Silver Spring near Takoma Park) from 1962-69. If memory holds me correctly; my dad used to drive into DC to buy his booze then.

Also; while still in Arlington, we used to make beer/wine runs to Dixie Liquors on M Street (almost dead across from Key Bridge) in Georgetown during the 1970's :)
Bearhawke in Arizona
Gary21228
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Re: Super Fresh in DC

Post by Gary21228 »

48th Street is tle last Super Fresh in the Washington area. The only othe store, Aspen Hill, MD was closed in A&P's last round of store closings.
rich
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Location: Washington, DC

Re: Super Fresh in DC

Post by rich »

There's still a store on Cherry Hill Road in what is considered White Oak. There are two stores in lower Frederick County.
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