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Heard on the Aisle: New Hope Super Fresh may be super gone by December, but better pedestrian access may be in

new hope superfreshThe Super Fresh grocery store at 322 W. Bridge St. in the New Hope Shopping Center may be closing by December, according to rumors on the shopping aisle and around the borough. And separately, the owner of New Hope Shopping Center where Super Fresh is located is showing interest in helping improve pedestrian access to the mall, according to a concerned and persistent New Hope resident.

Super Fresh parent company A&P is bankrupt and trimming locations, although plans have not finalized for the New Hope store, said an A&P spokesperson.

An employee with some knowledge of the situation who did not wish to be named for this story said, “We’ll be here through November. There’s different bidders, and a buyer could be announced as early as October.”

The Super Fresh location in question is well-situated between population concentrations, and New Hope is considered by some to possess an unmet and potentially lucrative market for certain household basics, including prepared food. The local Wawa, located directly across from Super Fresh, is reputed to be one of the best-performing in the nation.

Meanwhile, New Hope resident Ellen Melchiondo has been worried about pedestrian safety when accessing the New Hope Shopping Center, where there is virtually nothing resembling a sidewalk from which to enter. Melchiondo says that the owner is interested in helping solve the problem, and that they’ve been discussing different walkway possibilities. Hats off to both.

All very preliminary, but it sounds like change is coming to the New Hope Shopping Center, and not a moment too soon.

About the author

Charlie Sahner

“Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy." - Einstein

13 Comments

  • What a bummer, I’ve truly appreciated the fabulous butchers at Superfresh, especially with only precut/prepackaged meats available at Giant. Giant’s meat department is a crime, never stocked and steaks cut so paper thin it’s ridiculous. Superfresh butchers have been awesome, whether I special order or run in for meats they’ve already cut. Such a loss for the locals. 🙁

  • No big box stores but would love to see Trader Joe’s there – would definitely have to redo parking, access and walkways. May need a light on Sugan if a more visited store comes in. Whole Foods has their 365 stores they are developing too that are a little bit more reasonable that the regular ones so that’s an option too. Finally a year round farmer’s market like Stockton Market would be nice as well.

  • I do not think adding a roller rink or a target or anything along those lines would be beneficial to NH. NH is one of the most beautiful, quiet towns in the Bucks County area and adding these types of establishments will only bring in tourists for shopping and start to make New Hope more like Warrington and other surrounding areas in the Philadelphia area. Keep New Hope beautiful and choose an alternative that will keep the tradition of New Hope being one of the best towns in the country!

  • I could grudgingly live with Trader Joe’s or something I suppose because I assume it will end up being another grocery store of one kind or another, but I hate the idea of a Target or something similar. The last thing New Hope and Solebury need are more big corporate retailers. Shop locally/independent where you can, and if you can’t then Flemington is 15 minutes away. Too much more of that stuff and soon 202/179 is just going to be another Flemington/Warrington/Langhorne which is the exact opposite of what makes New Hope so special.

  • First of all I would like to thank Jack for his compassion for the employees, since I am one of them. Whether or not you like Super Fresh, please don’t forget about the employees who tried to make it a good place to shop. We all worked very hard, Unfortunately we were usually under staffed, and a lot of things were not in our control. Besides all that, the bakery was awesome! Lol. As far as what will take its place; will more than likely be another supermarket because Giant is the only one in the immediate area and it would be considered a monopoly. If a well run supermarket, like the Thriftway was, purchases the space it could be a gold mine!!

  • What about the employees. They will loose there jobs and income. Do you not care about that. This is “terrible news indeed”. There are employees that have worked there a very long time. Come on buyer put in your bid and keep this store open, this will benefit the whole community!! Think about it people.

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