[UNY NEWS] ShopRite's second market exodus from the Capital Region

UPDATE: All stores shown here are expected to close sooner than expected, effective Saturday, November 18th.

In this feature, we will be taking a look at the closing of not one, but FIVE ShopRite stores throughout the Capital Region. In essence, all the stores in the area. ShopRite has stated "sale of business" as the reason for closing these stores, meaning sales were not sufficient in keeping these stores operating. The stores are to close no later than December 9th.

SPOILER: For this feature, only photo coverage of the first store will be the most recent; all others feature older photos from normal operations. No new trips will be made to any of these stores.

NISKAYUNA

2333 Nott Street

Exterior of the Niskayuna location, photographed on October 27, 2023. Store opened on October 2, 2011.

This one is the only previously-owned building out of the five, occupying a large 1990s Grand Union building. While they are closing by the end of the year, ShopRite still has eight years remaining on their lease, which leaves a few options for the town to refill the space, such as subletting the space or selling their lease outright.

Inside the store, most of the personal care items have sold out.

The Seafood department by this time has permanently closed.

Many of the empty produce coolers have been sealed off. Also a random patch of blue tile is noticeable.

The freezer section was still halfway full. And that will end our coverage here.

ALBANY

709 Central Ave

Exterior of the Albany location, photographed on November 17, 2017. Opened on April 26, 2012, and the first of four purpose-built locations.

Mostly blurry pictures, but you get the point as to how the store looks like and is laid out inside. This store has a right-hand layout, with the grand aisle on the left.

SLINGERLANDS

41 Vista Blvd

Exterior of the Slingerlands location, photographed on September 13, 2021. Opened on September 30, 2012.

COLONIE

1730 Central Ave

Exterior of the Colonie location, photographed on April 7, 2019. Opened on April 7, 2013.

NORTH GREENBUSH

102 Van Rensselaer Square

Exterior of the North Greenbush location, photographed on September 13, 2019. Opened on December 10, 2017, this is the newest and final ShopRite to open in the region.

As this is a newer store, it has a different decor package than the other stores in the region. This is one is more industrial and drab, with a lot of grey. Also uses plank flooring in the grand aisle.

So, what could be in store for these spaces when ShopRite moves out? Time will tell.

- Retail Regents

Big Lots #5248

Opened: November 1, 2012

Location: 38 Dutchtown Plaza, Palatine Bridge, NY

Previous Tenants: Big N > Ames

Photographed: October 5, 2023

Today's post takes us to a different plaza-based Big Lots with a history.

This oddball was originally a Big N, the discount arm of the Neisner's variety store chain. After Neisner's was acquired by Ames in 1978, this became an Ames department store. After going out of business in 2002, this store sat empty for a full decade bearing white Ames signage until Big Lots opened in the left half of the building in November 2012. The right half is still vacant.

Inside the first set of doors is this unique corridor, giving Dutchtown Plaza a hallway mall kind of feel. It is not clear if there was anything separating this corridor from the Ames space before Big Lots moved in.

The interior is typical of Big Lots at the time, with alternating wall colors.

Almost the entire back of the store is dedicated to furniture.

A Concrete Concept: Richfield Springs Price Chopper

Our next post takes us to a slightly unique Price Chopper store in Richfield Springs, New York.

This 37,000 sq.ft. prototype store opened on May 17, 2005, designed to be more suited for smaller communities. It is a stripped down "Super Center" model, without a pharmacy and limited bakery section. A similar store opened around the same time in Delhi in Delaware County, but with a mirrored layout.

One very obvious difference between this store and others that opened at the time is that the flooring is bare concrete as opposed to tile. The Delhi store shares this same trait. 

Also of note is the concrete is dyed red in this section of the store.

A Look Inside: Deli Master of Broadalbin, New York

Owner: John Schiavo

Opened: April 2020

Previous Tenants: Myzal's > Sawyer's Corner Store

Cooperative: none
Location: 49 N. Main Street, Broadalbin, NY

Photographed: June 22, 2020 (cart tax), October 4, 2023 (store)

Today's post takes us to a former small-town supermarket now functioning as a public food wholesaler.

Deli Master, which also operates a store in the Johnstown Industrial Park opened this store in April 2020 out of the former Sawyer's Corner Store following its April 2019 closure and sale.

While most of it is not shown in these picture, cheeses and other dairy products are on the left, grocery in the middle, deli in the back, and frozen foods on the right side of the store.

Cart Tax: As Deli Master is a food wholesaler who sells in bulk to places such as restaurants and bodegas, it makes perfect sense for them to use warehouse-sized carts such as the ex-Sam's Club Unarco M170Zs shown above, which are currently stored outside. The smaller carts, which have always been stored inside, are ex-Walmart units (the one shown is from September 1994), which are old enough to bear the WALMART DISCOUNT CITY moniker on the handles (another cart lost its aftermarket Village Market handle insert and bears said moniker prominently).

[MINI-POST] PriceRite out, Big Lots in

UPDATE: This store is scheduled to close effective September 1, 2024.

Our next post takes us to Queensbury, New York, where a former grocery store becomes a generic home goods store.

All photos taken on October 4, 2023.

PriceRite closed this store at the end of 2021, effective on December 30th. The following year, it was replaced with this Big Lots store.

Predictable as Big Lots is, they gutted out the PriceRite space, giving it the typical Store of the Future interior.

[MINI-POST] The Cheapening of ALDI

It seems that the longer a retailer keeps a modern design concept, the more likely it is to be cheapened over time. Much like Price Chopper's upgrades to Market32, it appears that ALDI is cheapening their remodels.

All pictures taken on October 4, 2023.

This ALDI store, located at 2008 Doubleday Avenue in Ballston Spa, opened in 1997 like many of the earliest ALDI stores here in the Northeast. While the interior received a minor facelift in 2006, this next remodel would be slightly more substantial, or perhaps not. Reopening on January 5, 2023, this store would get a much cheaper exterior remodel, with a grid pattern adorning the facade and a reconfigured entryway. Normally ALDI would build an entirely new facade.

Inside it looks no different than many lower-end remodels in which the original tile is kept, but the drop ceiling was removed and the trusses painted black. However there is one thing that they didn't cheap out on...

The ratty 2015 Technibilt 7142W shopping carts were replaced with these sturdier, higher-quality Precision Wire 568W shopping carts. Like all of their newer carts, these simply have the ALDI "A" emblem on the handle insert.