Corrections or additions?
This article by Richard K. Rein was prepared for the April 9, 2003 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
On Supermarkets
Let us now praise famous supermarkets. I am writing
about Pathmark, the now departed, 24-hour, seven-day-a-week food emporium
in Windsor Green on Route 1 South. From the time when I was first
plunged into the daunting world of shopping for food and household
items for myself and two growing boys, until last month when the store
was shut down for lack of business, the Pathmark was my supermarket
of choice.
For me the big attraction in a supermarket is not organic produce
or grass-fed beef but rather the hours of operation. A fumbling bachelor
competing for space in a crowded supermarket aisle — trying to
calculate which detergent is a better value on a shelf packed with
dozens of different brands in dozens of different sizes with a variety
of special coupons and store deals advertised — is not a pretty
sight. At Pathmark the aisles were exceptionally wide, and at Tuesday
night at 11:30 p.m. exceptionally accessible.
At Pathmark, for every brand name staring at you with one price, the
supermarket had a house brand right next to it, with a price that
was often 30 or 40 percent less. A six pack of SunMaid raisins in
those 1.5 ounce boxes: $1.79. Pathmark raisins packaged in the exact
same way: $1.20
And Pathmark always had deals. There was a special place at the Windsor
Green store, near the last aisle where the paper and plastic products
were stocked, where Pathmark would fill a table with odd tools —
most priced at $5 or less. I have an 18-inch steel pry bar that I
carry with me every day. It was a $3 item at Pathmark.
A month or so before the closing, a Pathmark employee was killed trying
to cross Route 1 from the spot where the NJ Transit bus had stopped.
That tragedy put Pathmark into the chatter at cocktail parties and
social gatherings — I was amazed at how many people identified
themselves as Pathmark devotees for pretty much the same reasons as
I went. Here was a place that everybody went to because nobody was
ever there. It was the opposite of Yogi Berra’s famous restaurant
that was so crowded nobody ever went there anymore. In the weeks since
Pathmark’s demise I have been searching for another supermarket with
similarly generous hours. Here are some of them:
Wegmans, Nassau Park Boulevard, Princeton. 609-919-9300.Open 7 days from 6 a.m. to midnight.Wegmans was my first stop after Pathmark closed. The chain has a storein Johnson City, New York, that is the talk of the town in that areawhere relatives of mine live. Because I dread the Nassau Park parkinglot I went well after 10 p.m. But the store was too much for me —some sections seemed like a full-scale kitchen appliance store. Inever did find the raisins.Genuardi’s, Princeton-Hightstown Road, East Windsor. 609-371-7678.Open Monday through Saturday 6 a.m. to midnight and Sunday 6 a.m.to 10 p.m. After Wegmans I crossed Genuardi’s off my list — myimage was that it was similarly upscale and just not right for noviceshoppers.McCaffrey’s, North Harrison Street, Princeton. 609-683-1600.Open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday from8 a.m. until 9 p.m. McCaffrey’s on Princeton-Hightstown Road in WestWindsor, 609-799-3555, has the same hours, except it closes at 8 p.m.on Sunday.When I have to go shopping with my kids, this is now my market ofchoice. It’s clean, friendly, and easy to figure out. It’s also moreexpensive than Pathmark, but the produce — especially — seemsto be consistently better.ShopRite of Montgomery, Route 206 North and Route 518,Skillman. 609-279-9800. Open 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.This is a little out of my way, but I like the hours and will keepit as a backup choice.Super Fresh, Schalks Crossing Road, Plainsboro. 609-378-0226.Open 24 hours, 7 days a week.Now that Pathmark is gone, Superfresh is the only 24/7 supermarketin the area. I had high hopes when I went there (at 7 a.m. on a recentSunday morning), but left a little disappointed. Problem No. 1: Thesigns listing the products in each aisle were placed in a way thatforced me to walk to the head of each aisle in order to read them.Problem No. 2: Those SunMaid raisins were $1.99 a six-pack. The storebrand, America’s Choice, were $2.19! I shared this with an accomplishedshopper, and she immediately surmised that the store brand had beenmislabeled. I should have brought both to the checkout, I was advised.Acme Markets, Princeton-Hightstown Road, Princeton Junction.609-452-2354. Open daily Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 11p.m., 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Recently renovated, the Acme isa little more upscale than it had been, but not intimidating for anamateur. On the very first visit I manage to find the raisins:The house brand is 50 cents cheaper than SunMaid.At the checkout the cashier presents the acid test: Would I like anAcme Supercard? Yes, I say. I put it in my wallet, next to the AdvantageClub card from Pathmark.Corrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
