# Newark had only one supermarket? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751 "2007-05-19T18:51:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/41 "2007-05-23T01:33:30Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] Another large NJ city, New Brunswick, has one supermarket downtown, a C-Town. The other ones are pretty far out towards the suburbs. [/QUOTE] Well, there is a Shop-Rite in Highland Park (Raritan and Fourth?). That’s bike-able. But with the “Farmer’s Market” (that’s it’s name) and George Street Co-op, you can get by without a supermarket. (not that you were saying otherwise) ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/42 "2007-05-23T01:50:15Z")
I’ll confess to finding this thread both enlightening and a bit puzzling in the relative low frequency of supermarkets and hypermarkets in the places mentioned. This started me counting the numbers where I live. By most standards I live in a small city of just under 200,000 in Western Canada. As I’ve been reading this thread, I started counting supermarkets and superstores here. I may not even have them all, but here goes: 3 Sobey’s - large supermarkets 3 Safeways - large supermarkets 4 Safeways - slightly smaller 5 Extra Foods - large super markets 2 Co-op - supermarkets 2 Real Canadian Superstores - supermarket/superstore totalling 19 more or less allowing for the fact that I may have missed one or so. Over and above this are some smaller neighbourhood and specialty grocery stores and the Walmarts that include about 5 or 6 aisles of groceries including a frozen foods/refrigerated aisle. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/43 "2007-07-12T14:55:30Z")
Old-ish thread, I know. [The last chain supermarket in Detroit is closing](http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070705/METRO/707050349). ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/44 "2007-07-12T15:25:01Z")
I’m currently teaching an undergraduate class on the postwar American city, focusing on issues like suburbanization and changing patterns of residence and consumption. One of the books i set for my class is Lizabeth Cohen’s fine work, [A Consumer’s Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America](http://www.amazon.com/Consumers-Republic-Politics-Consumption-Postwar/dp/0375707379/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-3407487-6964804?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184252592&sr=8-1) (New York: Vintage 2003). Much of Cohen’s examination of postwar changes in the balance between city center and periphery, between urban and suburban, actually uses New Jersey as a case study. While she doesn’t specifically answer the question posed by the OP, this is a quote from page 288: > [@](#): > > Worst off [in terms of urban decline, loss of businesses, etc.] were cities like Newark, where the ffects of long-term retail decentralization were exacerbated by white reactions to the racial problems of the 1960s. Once the largest shopping district in the state, Newark saw a 24 percent decline in department store sales between 1963 and 1968, every one of its major department stores close between 1964 and 1992, and much of its retail space remain abandoned, leaving residents like Raymond Mungin to wonder, “I don’t have a car to drive out to the malls. What can I do?” ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/45 "2007-07-12T15:31:39Z")
[QUOTE=wheresgeorge04] I know you included “supposedly,” but Bullshit. I live in shit-ass [Woodlake, CA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlake%2C_CA). We have one **supermarket** , and one good grocery store that is smaller, about the size of 5 or 6 standard convenience stores. I work in loverly [Visalia, CA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visalia%2C_CA). It has AT LEAST 4 **supermarkets** and only 100,000 people. [/QUOTE] This may come as something of a surprise to you, but Detroit is not Woodlake or Visalia. It is a completely different city. I’ve never quite understood the mentality that says “Well, what you describe does not fit within my own narrowly-circumscribed experience, so you must be talking bullshit.” Maybe a little humility would lead you to realize that your experience is not universal, and that you can’t necessarily extrapolate from your experience to draw conclusions about very different times, peoples, or places. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/46 "2007-07-12T16:06:08Z")
Just found some more stuff. First, from a _New York times_ story from 1982, about proposed development of the Mulberry Street area of downtown, which would involve pushing local merchants out to make way for new office towers, the Gateway complexes. The last paragraph of the article states: > [@](#): > > City officials are worried that Mulberry Street may be the only place available for many of these people [city residents, taking public transit] to buy fresh fruit and meat at reasonable prices, since many supermarkets long ago fled from Newark. Councilman Tucker estimates that the closest major food market to Mulberry Street is a Foodtown in the Ironbound section, some eight blocks away and off the bus route. > > “Future Confronts Past in Newark,” _NYT_, March 14, 1982, p. NJ1 And the gold mine, from a 1986 _New York Times_ article about the ousting of Mayor Kenneth Gibson: > [@](#): > > The unemployment rate has risen from 8.4 percent in 1970 to 12.2 percent this year. The number of police officers has dropped from 1,445 in 1970 to 918. The number of retail stores has decreased from 3,869 in 1970 to 1,794. Businessmen have left, complaining that they cannot get secretarial help to work in the city. **In all of Newark, there is only one supermarket, near the Elizabeth city line**. In a city where nearly half the residents are under 20 years old, there are no movie theaters, no bowling alleys and few other recreational opportunities. > > “Gibson’s Long Struggle Ends; Newark’s Continues,” _NYT_, May 18, 1986, p. E7. No links, obviously. Articles found using ProQuest Historical Newspapers database. ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/47 "2007-07-12T16:28:21Z")
[QUOTE=GiantRat] There’s a B&N in Jersey City 239,000, there’s even one in Hoboken (pop. 40,000); but not enough business for one in Newark with nearly 250,000 people. [/QUOTE] This is a ridiculous nitpick, but as far as I know, from living here and doing a little extra searching, there are no major bookstores in Jersey City. A few small mom-n-pop types and one small one in the mall, that’s it. There is one next to the train terminal in Hoboken, which is easily accessible from Jersey City. Silly nitpick, I know, but it was bothering me. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/48 "2007-07-12T16:36:26Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] Youre right. It is bullshit. Detroit doesn’t have only one supermarket. It has only _two_. [/QUOTE] Is one of them the Super K on Telegraph Road, just south of 8 Mile? I’ve never been in there, but the parking lot is always packed full. In general, Detroit has a huge problem with lack of shopping. _Everything_ is in the suburbs. Mostly it’s just the effects of poverty, but the city also has high tax rates which tend to discourage new investment. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/49 "2007-07-12T16:41:54Z")
I don’t know about Detroit, but camden NJ seems utterly devoid of anything in the way of shopping and services. It must be very difficult to live in such areas-if you have no access to transportation. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/50 "2007-07-12T16:49:05Z")
[QUOTE=liberty3701] This is a ridiculous nitpick, but as far as I know, from living here and doing a little extra searching, there are no major bookstores in Jersey City. A few small mom-n-pop types and one small one in the mall, that’s it. There is one next to the train terminal in Hoboken, which is easily accessible from Jersey City. Silly nitpick, I know, but it was bothering me. [/QUOTE] The Barnes & Noble store locator lists one at: Newport Centre #A-45 30-145 Mall Drive West Jersey City, NJ 07310 From the map, this looks to be in Jersey City proper. ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/51 "2007-07-12T17:02:41Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] The Barnes & Noble store locator lists one at: Newport Centre #A-45 30-145 Mall Drive West Jersey City, NJ 07310 From the map, this looks to be in Jersey City proper. [/QUOTE] That’s the one I mentioned in the mall. It’s not a real B&N but a B. Dalton. It’s tiny and ill-equipped. Like I said it was a silly nitpick, but it got me excited that I might be living nearer to a big bookstore than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/52 "2007-07-12T17:11:50Z")
[QUOTE=liberty3701] That’s the one I mentioned in the mall. It’s not a real B&N but a B. Dalton. It’s tiny and ill-equipped. Like I said it was a silly nitpick, but it got me excited that I might be living nearer to a big bookstore than I thought. [/QUOTE] OK, if you want to play that game… 🙂 How about the B&N store in Hoboken, which is listed at a massive 1.29 miles away. That’s half the distance to my neighborhood B&N! And there are two others listed within 10 miles. How spoiled are you Jerseyites? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LtnJck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19b73/32.png) [@LtnJck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LtnJck)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/53 "2007-07-12T17:31:43Z")
Well the Wikipedia defines a supermarket as: A supermarket is a departmentalized self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise. It is larger in size and has a wider selection than a traditional grocery store and it is smaller than a hypermarket. I think part of it might have to do that Newark is 26 sq miles and has a very high population density. Other cities like Jersey City are similarly small and highly dense. So perhaps maybe peolpe can go short distances to other less dense cities and shop. If you compare to cities with large areas like Jacksonville, Los Angeles and Phoenix, you will find bigger populations but much lower density. ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751/54 "2007-07-12T18:00:16Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] OK, if you want to play that game… 🙂 How about the B&N store in Hoboken, which is listed at a massive 1.29 miles away. That’s half the distance to my neighborhood B&N! And there are two others listed within 10 miles. How spoiled are you Jerseyites? 🙂 [/QUOTE] Please reread my original [post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8772478&postcount=47) on this matter. You are not contradicting anything I’ve said already. I’m also curious as to where this 1.29 miles comes from, where the starting point is. JC is fairly large city. I didn’t mean to start a silly hijack. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-had-only-one-supermarket/404751.md?page=2)