1224 Blackwood-Clementon Road
Welcome to the Laurel Hill ShopRite!
From one Zallie's ShopRite to another. Last week's store is only located about two miles away, but feels worlds different. It originally opened in 1974 and has had several different tenants and remodels over the years. ShopRite didn't come along until 2007, and operates quite a modern store there today. The same cannot be said about this location, the ShopRite of Laurel Hill. It opened in 1973 as a Shop 'N Bag, being the first Zallie's supermarket, and became ShopRite in 1980. Sure, the sign on the exterior has the current ShopRite logo (though it didn't until 2018 - and, as we'll see, not all of the exterior signage has been updated), but that's it. The inside is still totally '80s. Not for long, though, as work is already ongoing to convert the former Clementon Kmart down the road into a new, state-of-the-art Zallie's ShopRite, not unlike the one we saw last year in Woolwich. 42Freeway has a lot of great information about the ShopRite situation here in Clementon, so please check out that article! But, for now, let's enjoy the current Laurel Hill ShopRite for what it is: a snapshot of the '80s.
The European breads section and the bakery are on your right when you walk in. I'm kind of confused by the decor here, because it's decidedly not modern or recent, but it looks newer than everything else in the store. I think it could be an upgrade from some point in the '90s.
And across from the deli, you find the deli department and the prepared foods kitchen (or "food court"), both of which are incredibly retro. I don't know what's more '80s-looking: the all-lowercase "delicatessen" or the urgent "THE FOOD COURT". I love the italics and the bright neon.
The produce department is in the back of the grand aisle. The second half of the "fresh produce" sign is burned out, but the ceiling makes up for that.
The seafood counter and the meat department are in the back.
Kind of an odd setup here. You can either go straight and through the meat department, or go to the left and go down the aisles. We'll do the latter. Both paths end up at the dairy department on the right wall.
A look at aisle 10, international foods. I like the old-school look of most of this store, but the aisle markers are pretty ugly. So are the category markers, although those are newer based on the logo and slogan.
Dairy's in the last aisle.
Checkouts are in the front. The checkout lanes themselves seem like they could be new, but the lane lights probably date back to when the store opened.
Also along the front end are the pharmacy, floral, and the customer service counter, all with glorious neon. The mirror treatment in the floral section was a common feature of ShopRites of the '80s.
As we leave the store, here's the ShopRite sign on the right side of the store. This logo was phased out in 2002.
Other Images of Interest
Street View Images
2023
As you can see on the far right side of the photo, the old ShopRite Pharmacy logo is still up on the road sign. If you're wondering why the sky looked like this, it was because of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires last year. I have asthma and I could barely go outside during that time because of how bad the air quality was.
2013
Still sporting the old logo on the facade here.
Thank you for joining me on this tour! I enjoyed seeing this ShopRite and comparing it to the one we saw last week. Despite being owned by the same family, the two stores couldn't be more different in terms of layout and aesthetics. Knowing how the Zallie's ShopRite in Woolwich turned out, the new location in Clementon is going to be great. I believe there are plans for this store to become a storage facility of some kind after ShopRite is all moved out, but I don't believe that's 100% confirmed as of now. Thanks again for coming with me, and I'll see you again next week!
Wow, that's one throwback of a supermarket! The neon Food Court was my favorite part with the design of the neon. I guess holding onto a decor like this, it shouldn't be a surprise a replacement store was in the works. That being said, I am surprised to see this store got fairly new self-checkout units, which look to be one of the most modern things in this store.
ReplyDeleteIt surely is! I didn't mention it in the post, but the food court is my favorite part, too. I can't put my finger on it, but something about it reminds me of a Southern chain, like Bruno's or Winn-Dixie. It doesn't really have a ShopRite vibe.
DeleteThe decor was probably dated long before they started planning the replacement! LOL. But I agree. I hadn't been in this store before taking these pictures, so I'm not sure about the self-checkout units, but I would assume they weren't there before and were added recently. Obviously this store isn't keen on replacing old things. I guess they have enough business for it - clearly they have enough business to replace the store! Thanks for commenting!
It'll be sad to see this décor go, although realistically it was probably overdue for an upgrade. Glad you got these photos of it though!
ReplyDelete