Grocery Archaeology

Original Grocery Tenant: unknown Address: 501 N 6th St, Allentown, PA Opened:  unknown Closed:  unknown Later Tenants:  Kim's Market (closed 2019) Photographed:  January 8, 2021 Here's a grocery store in a mostly residential neighborhood of northern Center City that didn't make it. As we'll see, it's not the store, it's the building that didn't work. This is another one I'm sure has been a grocery store for many decades but was most recently Kim's Market, which closed in 2019. If we look at the notice on the front door, it warns that the structure is unsafe and needs to be razed or repaired. Admittedly walking under the front overhang and looking in the windows freaked me out just a little bit, but no building fell on me, so I'm fine. Classic corner grocer entrance door here. The store seemed to have the opportunity to vacate, leaving behind all the fixtures and a lot of signage, but taking all merchandise out... ...and we see that there had be...

Original Grocery Tenant: A&P Address: 1841 S 4th St, Allentown, PA Opened:  1956 Closed:  1982 Later Tenants:  Hersh's IGA (1982-1990) > subdivided Photographed:  January 8, 2021 Just around the corner from yesterday's Superfood is this former A&P. It was constructed in the 1960s as an A&P centennial, then closed in 1982 when it was sold to Hersh's IGA. In 1990, Hersh's merged with Traub's IGA which was in what is now the Superfood, and closed this location. Traub's later sold to Valley Farm Market and then they sold to Superfood. Here's my source on that history. Don't forget the name Hersh's, by the way, we'll be seeing more of them as we pass through Allentown. A&P and ACME were direct competitors for a very long time and this location was no different, with a former ACME just up the street. That one, however, is still a supermarket, and we're going to check it out tomorrow on The Market Report !

Original Grocery Tenant: Shop Fair Supermarket Address: 1587 Lehigh St, Allentown, PA Opened:  unknown Closed:  by 2008 Later Tenants:  NSA Supermarkets (ca. 2008-ca. 2012) Photographed:  January 8, 2021 Our next two days of posts are in the same strip mall! The Parkway Shopping Center here in Allentown was once home to a Food Fair, which we'll be checking out tomorrow, but more recently had the Shop Fair Supermarket (no relation to the current chain ) later replaced by the Food Saver Market, affiliated at the time with NSA Supermarkets. NSA was the precursor to what today is America's Food Basket, and their banner Ideal Food Basket is preparing to open a store over in Bethlehem. This 22,000 square foot space is now a medical facility. Tomorrow we're headed to the other end of the mall for a look at its original supermarket anchor!

Original Grocery Tenant: ShopRite (closed 1992) Address: 2919 Lehigh St, Allentown, PA Opened:  unknown Closed:  1992 Later Tenants:  Food 4 Less (closed 2006) > Food Depot (2006-2007) > Bottom Dollar Food (2010-2014) Photographed:  January 8, 2021 Today's snapshot is a building that's had quite a few grocery tenants over the years. It was constructed around the 1960s as a ShopRite, likely owned by Saker/Foodarama but I'm not certain of that, then closed by 1992. It became a series of discount supermarket, first Food 4 Less, then the independent Food Depot (unrelated as far as I can tell to the NJ chain ), and most recently Bottom Dollar until their closure. When I visited, the store was being prepared to be converted to an auto parts store. But the massive metal sign structure remains out by the street, not to mention still with its painted-over Bottom Dollar sign. Check out Bottom Dollar in business here , and before they opened here . We're about three and...