Here is a quick and somewhat recent update at one of the few remaining old-school neon grocery stores in SE Texas. In fact, the store hasn't received any major updates presumably since the store opened. Even the parking lot configuration is something we rarely see these days with parking spots in front of the store.
The checkout area doesn't have neon, but the space age lights, and ceiling above the checkouts are pure 1980's.
The old-school checkout lane numbers are still intact.
The produce department.
The green neon signage in the floral department.
Not quite neon, but the metallic finish reflects the lights.
The aisle signage is still intact as well.
Some of the neon was burnt out at the bakery.
Here in the dairy department some of the neon was out as well.
This grocery store is a trip back to the 1980's. I can only hope that it remains this way for years to come.
That is all for this quick stop at the Market Basket. More to come!
I remember when you posted photos of this store to the blog back in 2019 and it became one of my favorite posts at the blog. This Market Basket is really awesome with the 1980s design. Not only does it have neon, artificial skylights, and other stereotypical 1980s features, but it also still uses those 'tilt-up', gated carts like so many supermarkets did in the 1980s and prior.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, it looks like not much has changed since you last photographed this store. It is neat to see this retro store still hanging on unlike most of our Fiesta Marts which have been updated. While some of the decor here looks like the 1990s Winn-Dixie Marketplace decor, this Market Basket version of it has aged much better than the Winn-Dixie versions, some of which were still up until just recently when so many Winn-Dixies were closed so they could be converted into Aldi stores. While the Winn-Dixie stores looked like a tribute to The Golden Girls, this still looks sleek and cutting-edge.
West Orange certainly has some unique supermarkets. I'm not sure if you've ever been to the Kroger there down the road from this, but it is an authentic 1962-built Kroger Family Center store which was originally a full discount store and grocery operation. Obviously, these days, the West Orange Kroger is more of a traditional supermarket as the discount store stuff was eliminated in the 1980s or so, but the store still has a bit of a classic 1962-era discount store look to it kind of like a Kmart.
The grand opening ad for that Kroger (Henke's) Family Center is over on the Portal to Texas History website. Click through the several pages of this grand opening ad, you'll be surprised what Kroger was trying to sell in these stores! Link: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1530735/m1/21/