Historical Information About ShopRite Locations (Past & Present)

[Max]

Though I am not sure how often I will have a chance to update this thread, I would like to have a thread devoted to historical information on ShopRite locations (past and present).

I think a good place to start is with the ShopRite of Netcong (in Morris County, NJ). This supermarket opened on September 15, 1965. Though ShopRite has older stores (even an older store in Morris County, that being the Sterling location), the ShopRite of Netcong is arguably the most vintage ShopRite still in operation, as it has (unlike Sterling) seen relatively few changes since day one. IMO, the awesome lettering on the supermarket's exterior--which is almost certainly original--is enough to make it the most vintage location in the entire chain. The Netcong ShopRite does look more modern on the inside, although I do not believe it has been renovated since the late-80s.

This great post from Zachary (at his The Market Report blog), provides more fascinating information:

https://www.marketreportblog.com/2022/0 ... ng-nj.html

As mentioned by Zachary, the ShopRite of Netcong is owed by the Romano family and its company, RoNetco Supermarkets, Inc. (Presumably, RoNetco is a portmanteau of "Romano" and "Netcong".) Zachary mentioned that Netcong is not the smallest ShopRite, although I disagree with him on that assertion. Zachary informed me that the Google Measure Distance tool shows that the ShopRite of Chatham (another favorite ShopRite of mine) is actually the smallest in the chain. Being familiar with both stores, it definitely seems like Chatham has more shoppable space. (Certainly, Chatham has a far greater selection of prepared foods than does Netcong.) When I mentioned this to Zachary, he brought up a good point about the limitations of the Google Measure Distance tool: specifically, if a store had a basement that is used for storage (which I believe is the case with Chatham but not with Netcong), then a seemingly smaller store (per the measure distance tool) could actually have more shoppable space. (By the way, when I leave comments on Zachary's blog, I do so under the name "A&P Fan".)

I am pretty sure that the Romano family's original store was in Netcong. While it may not have been their original supermarket, their prior Netcong store was located at 125 Main Street. (Though the current store has a Route 46 address, it is actually on the same road.) The 125 Main Street supermarket opened no later than April 10, 1958, per ShopRite newspaper advertisements. Ads from 6/14/1956 to 4/3/1958, inclusive, simply list an address of Route 46 for the Netcong store. Since (as mentioned earlier) portions of Netcong Main Street and Route 46 are on the same road, I do not know if this was a different store than the one with the 125 Main Street address. Furthermore, I could not ascertain if the Romanos operated a supermarket at 125 Main Street prior to June 1956; the ShopRite name debuted in 1951, and it is possible that the Romanos operated a store at 125 Main Street but did not join the Wakefern/ShopRite cooperative until 1956.

Before I conclude, anybody who has read Zachary's blog post will know that current Netcong ShopRite is due for a sizable expansion. Houses adjacent to the store were actually torn down a few years ago, but no progress has been made since then on the project. I have no idea what could be causing the expansion project to be delayed. Since I love vintage supermarkets, I hope that the 1965 store remains unaltered for as long as possible. That said, if you are in the area, you should make an effort to see the Netcong ShopRite as soon as possible, just so you can visit the store before the expansion finally does occur.

[Max]

Back to the Netcong ShopRite, I previously mentioned that the interior has been updated over the years. However, one element in the interior is almost certainly original: the signage on one of the walls of the liquor department. If you enlarge the third photo in Zachary's profile of that supermarket, the lettering of word "L I Q U O R" very likely dates to 1965. I am less certain if the beautiful terrazzo flooring is original (nor am I certain if the floor is even terrazzo).

RoNetco tends to be an old-fashioned ShopRite operator (and I mean that as a compliment), as does Village Super Market, Inc., the company belonging to the Sumas family. Village owns the next classic store I would like to discuss: the ShopRite of Chatham (also in Morris County, NJ), which opened on April 15, 1970. This ShopRite is located in a shopping center (the Hickory Square Shopping Center) that sports a unique and very beautiful exterior facade. (Note that despite being called the ShopRite of Chatham, this supermarket is actually in Chatham Township, which is a separate municipality.)

Zachary's profile of the ShopRite of Chatham can be found by clicking the following link:

https://www.marketreportblog.com/2021/1 ... am-nj.html

A detailed history of this supermarket can be found in one of the comments I wrote on Zachary's blog (as "A&P Fan"). Many of my comments are reproduced below:

*The opening of this store and this entire shopping center was predated by the opening of an A&P Centennial store across the street. That A&P--and its shopping center--opened in December 1969. (I did not mention this the comments section of Zachary's blog, but that A&P was "demoted" to an A Mart Discount Foods in the early-70s, though it reverted back to being a regular A&P.)

*There was a serious fire in the Chatham ShopRite during the early morning of October 16, 1970. While the damage to the store's exterior seemed minimal (based on a newspaper photo I saw), its interior needed to be completely rebuilt. On April 14, 1971, the Chatham ShopRite re-opened for business.

*This Shoprite was expanded from its original size. One of the original tenants in the Hickory Square Shopping Center was a shop called Bantam, which was (per a newspaper article in the Madison-Florham Park Eagle) "a variety-type junior department store." Bantam was a small chain of stores, and their Chatham location was right next to the ShopRite. Its Chatham store closed in May 1986, and ShopRite expanded into the former Bantam space. The expansion portion of the ShopRite is the space from the store's tiny bakery all the way through (approximately) where the produce section ends.

*I was not able to ascertain a specific date as to when the aforementioned Chatham ShopRite expansion occurred. But based on my childhood memories, it seemed to be completed by the end of the summer of 1987. I seem to recall the store getting a major renovation at this same time, to go along with the expansion. And (again) based on my childhood memories, I somehow recall that prior to the expansion, the store's grocery aisles were perpendicular to where they are now.

*The circa 1987 expansion and renovation of the ShopRite was likely the final nail in the Chatham A&P's coffin. Based upon memory, that store closed in 1991. That building's facade got an ugly renovation when Cost Cutters (later to become a Drug Fair) opened in 1995. The former A&P building is currently divided between an Ace Hardware and a liquor store.

*There's obviously been other renovations to this ShopRite since 1987 (for instance, the supermarket's current decor package, the wooden flooring in parts of the store, and the shelves in the grocery aisles were put in much more recently), but the 1987 expansion and renovation was the biggest change made to the store.

*The store's pharmacy unfortunately closed in early 2020. This shopping center does have a CVS (that has been in operation since 1974 and which has been expanded over the years), which was likely a factor in ShopRite's decision to close this store's pharmacy.

Note that many of the above dates were ascertained by going to Newspapers.com. For those of you who have access to that website, you'll want to check out Page 21 of the April 23, 1970 edition of the Madison-Florham Park Eagle, which features pictures of how the Chatham ShopRite looked on opening day. (There's also additional information about the Hickory Square Shopping Center's opening in that day's edition of the Madison-Florham Park Eagle.)

[Max]

There actually was a ShopRite in the town of Chatham proper, which was located at 393 Main Street and opened on June 6, 1956. It does appear that there was quite a bit of time in between the closure of that ShopRite and the opening of the Chatham Township ShopRite. I did not research whether the 393 Main Street ShopRite was owned and operated by Village.

An excellent but flawed source of historical information is JoshAustin610's Flickr Companion Page. (It's excellent because it serves as a great starting point for further research but is flawed because it contains many mistakes.) Currently, 393 Main Street is the address of a Kings supermarket that opened in late-January 1975. I did read a newspaper article which stated there was a Good Deal supermarket previously at that address which was destroyed by fire in April 1973; presumably, that building was originally a ShopRite. Josh was unaware of the building's history as a ShopRite but did say it was a Safeway-turned-Finast-turned Good Deal:

https://joshaustin610.blogspot.com/2014 ... gs-nj.html

Note that I did not spend the time on Newspapers.com verifying the accuracy of Josh's statement.

[Max]

Although I cannot figure out how to post an image from Newspapers.com that allows one to zoom in, I think I figured out a way to share a link which allows one to view an image or article (and enlarge it) properly.

In 1977 and 1978, a number of ShopRite newspaper ads listed all of the chain's locations. This link is from a 1/30/1977 ad:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143111403/

And this link is from a 12/3/1978 newspaper ad:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143111539/

It is interesting that ShopRite had stores in Massachusetts. This was surprising to learn, even though I already knew that PriceRite currently has locations in Massachusetts and even New Hampshire.

Here are links to some clippings pertaining to the current ShopRite of Chatham, as well as to the one-time Bantam store (in the same shopping center) and the former A&P across the street:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143086579/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/madi ... 143082942/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/madi ... 143086024/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/madi ... 143086266/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/madi ... 143082408/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143084491/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/madi ... 143086135/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/madi ... 143085956/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/madi ... 143082540/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/madi ... 143085290/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143087574/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/madi ... 143085615/

[Groceteria]

Although I cannot figure out how to post an image from Newspapers.com that allows one to zoom in, I think I figured out a way to share a link which allows one to view an image or article (and enlarge it) properly.

Great that you provided these, but for the record the links only work for those who have a paid Newspapers.com account.

[Max]

Although I cannot figure out how to post an image from Newspapers.com that allows one to zoom in, I think I figured out a way to share a link which allows one to view an image or article (and enlarge it) properly.

Great that you provided these, but for the record the links only work for those who have a paid Newspapers.com account.

Thank you for your response.

Ideally, I would like to post clippings from Newspapers.com, each of which would appear as images in my post; then one could click on the image and enlarge it (similar to how you posted a clipping showing the former Machias, Maine A&P that could be enlarged). I unfortunately could not figure out how to do this.

I did figure out how to save a Newspapers.com clipping as a JPG file and then upload as many as three of them as attachments to a post. However, because the JPG attachments could not be enlarged, I decided to delete those attachments.

[rich]

Although I cannot figure out how to post an image from Newspapers.com that allows one to zoom in, I think I figured out a way to share a link which allows one to view an image or article (and enlarge it) properly.

In 1977 and 1978, a number of ShopRite newspaper ads listed all of the chain's locations. This link is from a 1/30/1977 ad:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143111403/

And this link is from a 12/3/1978 newspaper ad:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143111539/

It is interesting that ShopRite had stores in Massachusetts. This was surprising to learn, even though I already knew that PriceRite currently has locations in Massachusetts and even New Hampshire.

The stores in Massachusetts were part of the Mott's chain which was based in Hartford. Mott's was the dominant chain in Hartford during the 60s, 70s and into the 80s. It was established as a local chain before joining Shop-Rite and, despite the Shop-Rite affiliation, they were known locally as Mott's and kept the Mott's name on the stores. The stores were relatively large for their time during their heyday but the chain didn't invest as other chains built larger ones. Particularly after founder Bob Mott died, the chain declined under other family members' management and it were sold to Wakefern who converted them to Price-Rite. They might have been the first Price-Rites. During the past few years, Shop-Rite has re-entered Central Connecticut.

[Groceteria]

I did figure out how to save a Newspapers.com clipping as a JPG file and then upload as many as three of them as attachments to a post. However, because the JPG attachments could not be enlarged, I decided to delete those attachments.

And unfortunately, posting a lot of those clippings as JPGs becomes a potential copyright issue. One or two at a time is usually permissible but more than that gets dicey. Sadly, there’s not a good way around this for paywall content.

[Max]

I did figure out how to save a Newspapers.com clipping as a JPG file and then upload as many as three of them as attachments to a post. However, because the JPG attachments could not be enlarged, I decided to delete those attachments.

And unfortunately, posting a lot of those clippings as JPGs becomes a potential copyright issue. One or two at a time is usually permissible but more than that gets dicey. Sadly, there’s not a good way around this for paywall content.

Interestingly, when I am logged out of Newspapers.com and click on any of the links that I shared, it still takes me to the clipping; above the clipping, it reads "Freeview Enjoy this clipping for free". Although I cannot enlarge a clipping unless I am logged into Newspapers.com, the "Freeview" provided is often quite good.

Perhaps what I described above only happens for a limited period of time or because Newspapers.com somehow recognizes my IP address and realizes I am subscriber (even when I am not logged into that site). But I am curious if non-subscribers (as well as subscribers when they are not logged in) can get a good glimpse of the newspaper content after clicking those hyperlinks I shared.

[Max]

Although I cannot figure out how to post an image from Newspapers.com that allows one to zoom in, I think I figured out a way to share a link which allows one to view an image or article (and enlarge it) properly.

In 1977 and 1978, a number of ShopRite newspaper ads listed all of the chain's locations. This link is from a 1/30/1977 ad:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143111403/

And this link is from a 12/3/1978 newspaper ad:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143111539/

It is interesting that ShopRite had stores in Massachusetts. This was surprising to learn, even though I already knew that PriceRite currently has locations in Massachusetts and even New Hampshire.

The stores in Massachusetts were part of the Mott's chain which was based in Hartford. Mott's was the dominant chain in Hartford during the 60s, 70s and into the 80s. It was established as a local chain before joining Shop-Rite and, despite the Shop-Rite affiliation, they were known locally as Mott's and kept the Mott's name on the stores. The stores were relatively large for their time during their heyday but the chain didn't invest as other chains built larger ones. Particularly after founder Bob Mott died, the chain declined under other family members' management and it were sold to Wakefern who converted them to Price-Rite. They might have been the first Price-Rites. During the past few years, Shop-Rite has re-entered Central Connecticut.

Thanks for this fascinating information.

According to my research, Mott's joined the Wakefern cooperative in 1959 and adopted the ShopRite affiliation in January 1966:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143203065/

These 1986 ShopRite ads list locations which I presume were operated by Mott's (though I could be mistaken):

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143203265/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143203312/

In 1987, most of Mott's supermarkets were acquired by Wakefern:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/star ... 143202946/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143203403/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143203443/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143203542/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143203602/

Due to legal issues, Mott's held onto three stores until 1990:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143262201/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/hart ... 143262298/

(Hopefully, you and others can access much of the content in the above links.)

One of the newspaper articles from 1987 mentions that Mott's operated one of its stores under the PriceRite name. However, this was the only such mention of PriceRite from that time which I could find.

The below February 1992 ShopRite ad states that there was a PriceRite in Norwich, CT at 634 West Main Street (which I do not believe was a former Mott's location). There currently is a ShopRite at that address.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-day/143204382/

Although Wikipedia is often incorrect, the website indicates that the first PriceRite (which was not a "mini-club") opened in 1995 in West Springfield, MA. Though I did not spend much time researching this, I was not able to ascertain the identity of the first PriceRite supermarket location(s).

[Max]

The next ShopRite I will discuss is the ShopRite of Millburn (in Essex County, NJ), located at 220 Main Street and owned & operated by Village. Much like Netcong and Chatham, the Millburn supermarket is a classic ShopRite still in operation. But unlike those other two stores, the building which houses the Millburn store did not begin life as a ShopRite. For many years, it was erroneously believed that the Millburn ShopRite was once a Centennial A&P. In fact, the first tenant of this building was a very obscure chain called Mutual Super Markets, which opened on September 14, 1960:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143494708/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143495639/

I have no idea why Mutual was allowed to build a supermarket that looked so much like a Centennial. I was thinking that perhaps A&P constructed the supermarket but then decided--at the 11th hour--not to open. However, I found no evidence that A&P ever intended to operate a store at 220 Main Street.

Here is a photo (from one particular vantage point) of how the store looked when it was new:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143495221/

After operating in Millburn for about three months, Mutual sold its leasehold and all of the store's assets to Good Deal Super Markets. There was no interruption in the store's operations during the transition, and the 220 Main Street location became a Good Deal in December 1960. The following article indicates that the transition took place on December 5, 1960:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143495926/

While this ad indicates an opening date of December 14, 1960:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143496247/

I was unable to ascertain exactly when the store's branding changed from "Good Deal" to "Staff-Good Deal." Per newspaper ads, the branding was still "Good Deal" as of 5/2/63 but had changed to "Staff-Good Deal" by 11/21/68. The Millburn Staff-Good Deal closed sometime between 9/23/71 and 9/26/74. I suspect that the entire Staff-Good Deal chain was out of business by September 1974, although I am not 100% certain.

On Zachary's blog, he shared a photo (courtesy of the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society) of how the front of the building looked when it was a Staff-Good Deal supermarket:

https://www.marketreportblog.com/2018/1 ... rn-nj.html

As is evident, it looks remarkably like a Centennial A&P (even more so back then as compared to today), with the biggest difference being the lack of any "triangular portion" in the center of the (front part of the) roof. It is quite unfortunate that those beautiful windows were covered up in an unattractive way. I do not know exactly when those windows were covered up.

ShopRite began operating at 220 Main Street on December 11, 1974:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143497172/

Zachary has written extensively about this store over the years. This was his first blog post about the supermarket:

https://www.marketreportblog.com/2017/0 ... rn-nj.html

While the Millburn ShopRite's decor at that time was very dated, my best guess is that it was not the original 1974 decor. This is because the decor package seen in Zachary's photos was the same as that found in a Morris Plains ShopRite location which reopened in 1983; it would be highly unlikely that a 1983 store would use a nine-year-old decor package. (I may discuss the Morris Plains store's history some other time. But for now, know that the ShopRite of Morris Plains opened in 1964, originally closed in 1982, then expanded and reopened in 1983, and finally relocated to Cedar Knolls in 2013.)

The Millburn ShopRite recently received a nice-looking interior renovation, as documented in this post of Zachary's:

https://www.marketreportblog.com/2023/1 ... rn-nj.html

As a final note, the 220 Main Street location was not the first ShopRite in Millburn. Two prior Millburn ShopRites--at 186 Essex Street and at 249 Millburn Avenue--were among the stores that converted to Pathmark in late 1968:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143497569/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143497439/

[Max]

Located close to the ShopRite of Millburn is the ShopRite of Springfield. Like the chain's Millburn store, the ShopRite of Springfield (in Union County, NJ) is another longtime Village ShopRite located in a building which began life as a different supermarket. Although I realize that the Springfield ShopRite has previously been discussed on this message board, hopefully my research provides some new details about this store's history.

On October 15, 1952, Safeway opened its Springfield supermarket at 727 Morris Turnpike:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143793520/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143793577/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143793632/

This Safeway was remodeled in 1958. While the 1952 ad showed an artist's rendering of the supermarket, the below ad from 1958 contains an actual photo:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143796253/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143796274/

When it comes to supermarkets, I am not that familiar with the history of Safeway, since the chains whose history I am primarily interested in are A&P, Super Fresh, and ShopRite. But I suspect that no Marina Safeways were built as early as 1952. And by looking at both the 1952 and 1958 ads, it is apparent that this Safeway was not a Marina Safeway.

The Springfield Safeway was destroyed by fire on the evening of September 2, 1960:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143792385/

Safeway announced plans to build a brand new supermarket to replace the one that was destroyed:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143791878/

Per the Groceteria Webmaster. Safeway's New York Division was purchased by Finast in 1961. Consequently, Finast acquired a brand new store in Springfield which was intended to be--but never was--a Marina Safeway.

Construction was completed on the new supermarket in early 1962. If you look at the Historic Aerials website, you will notice that the 1962 store is much further back from Morris Turnpike than the store it replaced.

On February 7, 1962, the Springfield Finast opened its doors. Hopefully you can see the same free previews which I am able to see (when I am not logged into Newspapers.com), because the grand opening advertisements show an artist's rendering of what this Finast looked like when it was brand new:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143790864/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143790408/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143791079/

I was unable to ascertain when Finast closed its Springfield supermarket. However, it was still open according to this June 5, 1972 ad:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143796699/

The ShopRite of Springfield opened on April 9, 1975:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143797257/

Historic aerial images show that the building was expanded twice: the first expansion occurred between 1970 and 1979 and the second happened between 2002 and 2006. Unfortunately, I was unable to learn any information as to exactly when these expansions were completed.

Here is Zachary's profile of the Springfield ShopRite:

https://www.marketreportblog.com/2021/0 ... ld-nj.html

Although Zachary mentioned that this ShopRite was a replacement for the chain's Summit location, I could not verify that claim. Zachary also shared a photo of some beautiful mosaics on the outside of the building near the entrance/exit doors. Though I cannot be certain, I suspect that these date back to 1962. In fact, if you look at the artist's rendering in the February 1962 Finast ads, several different works of art appear on the building's exterior (some of which have sadly been obstructed).

Interestingly, there is a former A&P directly across the street from the ShopRite of Springfield, though the A&P happens to be in a different town--Millburn--and a different county (Essex). Undoubtedly, being across the street from a ShopRite was the reason why this A&P failed.

The Millburn A&P opened on August 20, 1957. While I am aware of other Centennials which opened during the second half of 1957, I am not sure I have come across a Centennial that opened this early.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143794026/

Zachary wrote about this store as well:

https://www.marketreportblog.com/2018/0 ... rn-nj.html

Though I myself may be wrong, it appears that Zachary was mistaken when he stated that the shopping center he photographed was home to two A&Ps. Actually, it appears that the building which Zachary identified as A&P's first supermarket in the shopping center was never a supermarket. Rather, historic aerials show that a shopping center was built alongside the A&P sometime between 1957 and 1966, and that this new addition was intentionally built to resemble the Centennial architecture of the A&P.

Historic aerial images show that the A&P was expanded during the 1970s, although I do not know exactly when the supermarket was enlarged. The beautiful Centennial facade was obstructed as a result of this expansion, although I cannot tell if the store subsequently had a mansard roof that was typical of many 1970s A&Ps.

The Millburn A&P appears to have closed in March 1985. Some A&P newspaper ads from the 1980s listed all the chain's locations in the area. Millburn still appeared among the stores listed in this 2/27/85 ad:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/dail ... 143795492/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/dail ... 143795524/

However, Millburn no longer appeared in an A&P ad from 3/10/85:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbu ... 143795317/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbu ... 143795392/

The following two newspaper articles--the first from September 1985 and the second from January 1986--also allude to the Millburn A&P having closed:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143795104/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143794823/

As a final note, Google Street View shows that the entire A&P shopping center was painted blue (or blue-gray) sometime between June 2022 and June 2023.

[rich]

The Springfield Finast looks like a Safeway Marina design like this one from the Pleasant Family Shopping blog (below), which even has some mural work at the entrance. If so, it probably was under construction when Finast bought Safeway's NYC Division.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ei2Ik5quiI0/ ... and+or.jpg

There used to be a poster here named Gerry Maynes, who literally grew-up in NYC Division Safeway/Finast stores (his father was a store manager). Sadly, he died a few years ago. he probably would have known the lineage of the store.

Speaking of colonial prototypes....First National had one that was pretty close to the A&P Centennial. I couldn't find a photo, but one of their annual reports has a sketch on its cover: https://archive.org/details/firstnation ... al1962.pdf

[Max]

The Springfield Finast looks like a Safeway Marina design like this one from the Pleasant Family Shopping blog (below), which even has some mural work at the entrance. If so, it probably was under construction when Finast bought Safeway's NYC Division.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ei2Ik5quiI0/ ... and+or.jpg

There used to be a poster here named Gerry Maynes, who literally grew-up in NYC Division Safeway/Finast stores (his father was a store manager). Sadly, he died a few years ago. he probably would have known the lineage of the store.

Speaking of colonial prototypes....First National had one that was pretty close to the A&P Centennial. I couldn't find a photo, but one of their annual reports has a sketch on its cover: https://archive.org/details/firstnation ... al1962.pdf

Thanks very much for your response. I think it is extremely likely that Safeway finished construction of this supermarket before Finast's purchase of Safeway's NYC Division was finalized.

I would have been very interested in what Mr. Maynes had to say about this store and am sorry to learn of his passing.

I did not realize that Safeway built other Marina stores which had mural work at the entrances. How common was it to see mural work at the entrances of Safeway Marina supermarkets?

Regarding this particular location's mural work, the following link (from a grand opening advertisement for the Springfield Finast) describes what the different exterior mosaics portrayed:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 144471740/

If for some reason the above link does not work for you, its contents are as follows:

"SEE THE HISTORIC STOREFRONT MURALS:

'The Village Green' -- Springfield's Historic First Presbyterian Church -- Independence Hall -- George Washington's Headquarters."

Of the two mosaics which are still visible, it appears that one of them is of the Presbyterian church.

On a different topic which you addressed, the Finast colonial prototype was indeed pretty close to the A&P Centennial. However, what is really uncanny is how much the building which houses the ShopRite of Millburn looks like a Centennial. This resemblance was even more striking prior to the windows being covered up with those ugly stucco panels, as seen in a historic photo found in this article:

https://www.marketreportblog.com/2018/1 ... rn-nj.html

As I mentioned previously, the Millburn store appears to have been constructed for a very obscure chain called Mutual Super Markets:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143495221/

There is always the possibility that A&P built the supermarket but decided not to open at the last moment. But based on my research, this seems highly unlikely, since I never read any articles mentioning A&P's intention to open a store at that site. The following article also states that the supermarket was constructed for Mutual:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... 143495926/

Just as importantly, the above article mentions that the building's size is 29,000 square feet. I do not believe that any A&P Centennials (excluding those that were later expanded) were ever that large.

One last thing (which I touched upon in a prior post) was my surprise that another chain could build a store that so closely resembled the dominant prototype A&P was using at the time. Although I could be mistaken, I presume that store design prototypes cannot be copyrighted or trademarked (thus giving A&P no legal recourse in the event that a competitor built a similar looking supermarket).

[TheStranger]

Out here in the chain's home region (San Francisco Bay Areas), I can think of two Safeway marina buildings that had murals:

- San Francisco at the namesake Marina Boulevard site, still there but moved from their orginal spot after a 1995 remodel of the store
https://www.alamy.com/mural-on-marina-s ... 77550.html


- Millbrae; marina building (which eventually got a false front at some point) was demolished and replaced with a newer Safeway sometime between 2011-2016, the mural was moved to a wall on the new building if I am not mistaken.

Here's a 1962 photo of the Millbrae setup, with the mural somewhat visible:
Safeway, Millbrae, California, 1962 by John, on Flickr