Summer Solstice Supermarket Special: A Look Inside Delmar Marketplace

In this summer special, we start the season with a look at a small grocery store in the Albany suburb of Delmar.

The John & Mary's Grocery in Delmar Marketplace has been owned by John and Mary Hooper since September 2011, though this store is certainly much older. If anything, the vinyl siding seems to hide the bones of a much older building, as this was a store called Empire, as shown in the Albany Suburban  Chain Grocery/Supermarket locations, 1925-2005 under the 1956 and 1960 sections. Also present within is McCarroll's The Village Butcher and Deli, which originally in 1921 on Central Avenue in Albany, moving here many decades later. Four Corners Frame Shop on the left rounds out the tenant list.

This Subway was formerly Cyndarella's Subs until about 2009, and before that it was a Mr. Subb.

Front of the store. Curiously the entry doors are manual while the exit doors are automatic.

McCarroll's was not open at the time of this visit. Also of note is the deli, meat, and seafood service areas used to be a yellow-orange color while the wall next to it (where the butter and eggs signs are) was a dark brown. At some point all of these walls were painted green, with most of the signage removed altogether, while other signs were replaced with monochrome ones.

A quick look at produce to conclude this tour. But before we go, we need to collect the cart tax.

As you probably saw in the first interior picture, the store's carts consist of two older models from two different manufacturers. The top one is a Unarco with the Delmar Marketplace name on it from 1996 and the bottom one is a United without provisions for child seating and a blank yellow handle insert, which was manufactured around 1984.