Groceteria.com

Boys, things are bad. I heard A&P is closing 10 more Super Fresh/Pathmark stores. Here is a press release: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/2 ... tores.html

A few that stand out:

1. Pathmark Sav-A-Center (Super Fresh), Saucon Valley (Bethlehem), PA: How did A&P manage to hold on to the Lehigh Valley that long?

2. Super Fresh, Lumberton, NJ (Mount Holly): This Super Fresh was identical to one in Bellmawr that opened in 1992 and closed in 2002.

3. Super Fresh Hammonton, NJ: 1995 model Super Fresh, replaced a store that was a 1975 model A&P, which replaced an early Centennial A&P. I imagine the nearby ShopRite (in a former Jamesway) did the last one in. The Jamesway was down from an Acme which closed in 2002, right before ShopRite opened. Super Fresh is down from a Wal-Mart/Walmart, but I would imagine A&P/Super Fresh would have a non-compete clause.

4. Super Fresh, Cape May Court House, NJ: This store competes with an Acme (also was a Jamesway) that has a liquor department. How can Super Fresh compete with that?

5. Super Fresh, Hightstown, NJ: At least they outlasted Genuardi's in this town!

6. Super Fresh, Yardley, PA: This store was once a Super G, and has a PA Wine & Spirits store inside. Whether that will stay open or not depends on if it has a viable separate entrance.

7. Super Fresh, Lionville (Chester Springs/Exton), PA: This store seems far from A&P's other operations, and was similar to the one in Hammonton. The farthest store from the rest of the Super Fresh chain was until recently a "Futurestore" in Etters, PA (between Harrisburg and York). At least it wasn't as far as New Orleans!

Actually, per the A&P Corporate site (http://www.aptea.com/pressRoom_article.asp?id=221) it looks like a total of 32 stores closing over 6 states (NY, CT, MD, PA, NJ, DE) with about 1/2 of these in NJ and another large chunk in NY (makes sense since NJ & NY have most of the total stores).

The ames fan club forum (amesfanclub.com) has a listing of which stores are closing.

A friendly reminder to keep discussion focused on history rather than current operations. If you want to discuss the latter, this would be a great place to do so: http://www.retailwatchers.com/

Not sure if any of you remember, but The Philadelphia Inquirer reported back in 1978 that a Pathmark Super Center would be built on the site of the empty Dixie Square Penneys/Penn Fruit. Too bad they cancelled that movie studio in the first place.

Just how far did Pathmark span way back when they were still growing? I know there were some in Connecticut but were there any other states that they've long since bailed out of?

Did any of these stores other than Hammonton replace Centennial/Colonial or other A&Ps?

Pathmark's operating territory has tended to stay close to the Delaware Valley/Southeast Pennsylvania and NYC metro tri-state area throughout its history. Parent company Supermarkets General was formed in 1966 from the merger of two members of the Wakefern(ShopRite) co-op, Supermarket Operating Co. and General Supermarkets, and in 1968 left the co-op adopting the Pathmark name. SGC at its peak included Rickel home centers and Purity Supreme supermarkets in New England, in addition to Pathmark. Purity Supreme operated in MA, ME, NH, and CT.