A&P (Pathmark) circling the drain?

Well it is official. A & P has filed for Bankruptcy. Some stores (not Pathmark in Maplewood) will be closing immediately. But A & P says it is in talks to sell 120 or so locations to a combination of Stop & Shop, Acme and Key Foods. No mention yet of which locations are included.

According to bankruptcy filing, Stop&Shop has purchase agreement for South Orange location. At least that's better than Acme or Key Foods.

A Stop&Shop would be a welcome replacement.

Residents stopped the Shop-Rite - charge was led by a few that were concerned about the potential truck traffic on 3rd street and demanded the site be used for residential purposes.

susan1014 said:
At one point (around 20 years ago?), ShopRite wanted to build a new modern store on Third Street, to replace the small on on SOA. However they couldn't get approval from the BOT, perhaps because our then-Village-President didn't want another competing pharmacy in town (or so the gossip goes). So Gaslight Commons went on that site (previously an auto dealership, I think)
If Pathmark doesn't survive, I'd love to see ShopRite take on their site.

krnl said:
A Stop&Shop would be a welcome replacement.

I know if I found myself in need of groceries while standing in the Pathmark parking lot, I'd drive to Ashley or Kings. This seems like bad news for both of them.

krnl said:
A Stop&Shop would be a welcome replacement.

Is Shop&Stop good? I'm asking because, having moved recently from NYC, I never used them. I have been to the one in Union, and I find it no better than Pathmark. A little worse, frankly, for fruits and veggies. Is the Union store typical, or does quality vary by location?

The main thing I like about the one in Union is the parking garage underneath that lets you drive in and shop without dealing with bad weather. The store itself is OK, but not great. I think I like it a bit better than PathMark, but not as much as ShopRite.

I personally would love a Shop Rite to take over the PathMark on Valley
Street. I never ever like that store. It's always dirty and they never have the
things I need plus they are more expensive then Shop Rite. I always do so much
better at shop Rite. They always have what I need and I save tone of money as
well. I can't weight for the PathMark on Valley to close and become a Shop
Rite.

MickeyMouse said:
I personally would love a Shop Rite to take over the PathMark on Valley
Street. I never ever like that store. It's always dirty and they never have the
things I need plus they are more expensive then Shop Rite. I always do so much
better at shop Rite. They always have what I need and I save tone of money as
well. I can't weight for the PathMark on Valley to close and become a Shop
Rite.

It's supposedly becoming a Shop and Stop, not a Shop Rite

Grew up on Stop & Shop in Boston (that and Star Market). They are wonderful grocery stores. Well priced. Well maintained and always updated.

With the exception of the location in Union, Super Stop & Shops are usually leaps and bounds better than Pathmark. Love the SS&S in Madison for example. The Union location is a shame, can't help but wonder if that store is neglected to due its lower socioeconomic geography and clientele.

Fair enough...it was just before we moved here, and I've heard both stories. I wouldn't be surprised if it were a bit of each.

mikescott said:
Residents stopped the Shop-Rite - charge was led by a few that were concerned about the potential truck traffic on 3rd street and demanded the site be used for residential purposes.

susan1014 said:
At one point (around 20 years ago?), ShopRite wanted to build a new modern store on Third Street, to replace the small on on SOA. However they couldn't get approval from the BOT, perhaps because our then-Village-President didn't want another competing pharmacy in town (or so the gossip goes). So Gaslight Commons went on that site (previously an auto dealership, I think)
If Pathmark doesn't survive, I'd love to see ShopRite take on their site.

HudsonBlue said:
With the exception of the location in Union, Super Stop & Shops are usually leaps and bounds better than Pathmark. Love the SS&S in Madison for example. The Union location is a shame, can't help but wonder if that store is neglected to due its lower socioeconomic geography and clientele.

Totally agree!

Whoever goes in, I hope they will repave the parking lot. Pathmark cleaned up a few years ago, and it doesn't seem too bad. But the lot's torn up pavement is horrendous for pushing a cart over.

kibbegirl said:
Grew up on Stop & Shop in Boston (that and Star Market). They are wonderful grocery stores. Well priced. Well maintained and always updated.

Me too! Especially miss Staaaaaa Maket.

nan said:

kibbegirl said:
Grew up on Stop & Shop in Boston (that and Star Market). They are wonderful grocery stores. Well priced. Well maintained and always updated.

Me too! Especially miss Staaaaaa Maket.

Did they ever take down the signs? Star Market signs. Star Market uniforms. Welcome to Star Market crawl on the register.

Try to use a Star Market discount card? Umm, sorry sir - this is Shaw's

if only we could have a Wegman's

I've always been pleased with Acme stores as well. I wonder if they are different in NJ than in PA. I'd take that over the PathMark, which seems overpriced to me.

RobB said:

nan said:

kibbegirl said:
Grew up on Stop & Shop in Boston (that and Star Market). They are wonderful grocery stores. Well priced. Well maintained and always updated.

Me too! Especially miss Staaaaaa Maket.

Did they ever take down the signs? Star Market signs. Star Market uniforms. Welcome to Star Market crawl on the register.


Try to use a Star Market discount card? Umm, sorry sir - this is Shaw's

One of my favorite cousins worked for years at Shaw's. I usually went to the Staaaa Market on Boylston. Or if I was in the area, the one on Fenway. Wasn't a huge fan of Shaw's only because it was semi-unfamiliar to me.

Stop and Shop was our go-to grocery store. Everything was always bright and airy and modern. Their hot plates were da bomb as well as their take home salads. Also, always appreciated the fact that their lots were very well lit and they had their own security circling.

We would be lucky if we got a Super Stop and Shop! Peter and Lois Griffin shop there

It seems like a much smaller location than any Super Stop & Shop that I've ever seen. I wonder if they will/can expand the store. I hope they freshen it (and repave). I rarely go there even though it's convenient.

Wonder what this means for the old Saks site on Millburn Avenue.

The site isn't big enough for a Wegman's but I would love it if we had one.

Copyability said:
if only we could have a Wegman's

It's in South Orange, not Maplewood. Although it is close to the border. The new CVS is in Maplewood just across the border.

Sybil said:
Well it is official. A & P has filed for Bankruptcy. Some stores (not Pathmark in Maplewood) will be closing immediately. But A & P says it is in talks to sell 120 or so locations to a combination of Stop & Shop, Acme and Key Foods. No mention yet of which locations are included.

My bad. I knew that. Not sure why I typed the wrong thing.

Steve said:
Wonder what this means for the old Saks site on Millburn Avenue.

As was posted here somewhere Ahold never appealed the Millburn rejection and the time for appeal has passed. So I think that has been dead for some time. This is likely their plan B and the Saks site will be on the market if it is not quietly already so.

I've always found the prices at Stop and Shop to be more expensive than at Shoprite. But it does become an option for quick runs for things that are even more exp at Kings or that TJ's doesn't stock.

joy said:
I've always found the prices at Stop and Shop to be more expensive than at Shoprite. But it does become an option for quick runs for things that are even more exp at Kings or that TJ's doesn't stock.

That's kinda how I use Pathmark now. I never liked it that much other than for one or two items I can't find anywhere else (e.g. Mexican Fanta drinks and my spouse's preferred cereal variety), but I got in the habit while my kids were at CHS since it was open early and I could hop over there after doing a morning dropoff.

so_newstead said:
The site isn't big enough for a Wegman's but I would love it if we had one.

Copyability said:
if only we could have a Wegman's

Thanks Copyability. Whenever Pathmark's future is discussed, the hope, real or not, for a Wegmans inevitability pops up. Having gone to school in Buffalo in the 80s and watched their evolution from just a nice supermarket to America's most beloved regional chain, I'll say this. Wegmans will never open anywhere in Essex County. We don't have the large, few strongs attached sites on main highways they look for. For example, the store under construction in Hanover is over 100,000 SF, the minimum size of any new location. And they don't do the covered parking thing. As an aside, I still think Union S&S wouldn't have been expanded if Springfield had gone ahead.

And until recently, they like the municipal red carpet treatment or they walk. They're having a tough time up in Montvale, with both traffic opposition and density/affordable housing issues slowing approval of the larger development. They're still shaking lawsuits from A&P there and our own Village Super Market in Hanover, using phony zoning issues to postpone competition.

Trust me, I wasn't holding my breath for one and you are absolutely correct about the space/access issue. But being from Rochester, NY, where Wegman's is based, and making a point to go to their flagship store in Pittsford, NY when I'm up there, I can still dream, right?

Copyability said:
Trust me, I wasn't holding my breath for one and you are absolutely correct about the space/access issue. But being from Rochester, NY, where Wegman's is based, and making a point to go to their flagship store in Pittsford, NY when I'm up there, I can still dream, right?

Got it. So you certainly didn't need my lecture. In the past, there have been many who seriously thought it was a possibility. I was in Woodbrige recently and was looking forward to going for the first time in a while. It reminded me how much more expensive it is vs ShopRite, and couldn't be the place for our weekly shopping.

More personally, the kosher deli had disappeared. They had typical offerings and roast chickens in a variety of spices at a good price. The produce is fantastic, but with few exceptions, the prices are fantastically high. I understand the Whole Foods comparison, and to me it's a negative one.

So, A&P owned this store. It wasn't an A&P, though, it was a Pathmark. Does Stop & Shop purchasing the store mean that it will become a Stop & Shop, or could it become a dirty Pathmark owned by Stop & Shop?

I would prefer an outright overhaul to a Stop & Shop, personally. The Pathmark, while useful, is really dirty and sad. Also, that seafood counter? The stench!!!