NJ grocery store around since the ’70s is closing down

You know the old phrase, the more things change the more things stay the same? Not in this case.

For some in Ocean Township, this is going to hit hard. For some, this may have been the only grocery store they ever bought from locally.

In 1979, Jimmy Carter was still in the White House, hostages were still in Iran, we hadn’t even heard about New Jersey’s ABSCAM sting operation yet, and get this, Jimmy Hoffa had only been missing for four years.

That’s how long ago Super Foodtown opened in Ocean Township. Food Circus Super Markets President Lou Scaduto Jr. says the store was unable to come to terms on a lease renewal for its Route 35 location.

The result? Lights out on Aug. 12. End of the line. On Aug. 13 the nearest Super Foodtown for Ocean Township loyal customers will be Red Bank and Sea Girt, about 7 miles and 11 miles away, respectively.

Existing closer options for those who don’t mind moving on to a new business? Wegmans, ShopRite, Lidl, Target, Stop & Shop.

According to NJ.com this closure will drop the number of remaining Super Foodtowns in New Jersey to 10.

It’s not the food. You’ll be able to buy that anywhere. Just like when clothing stores closed down, there were always other ones. When Blockbuster went away, there were other ways to see movies or when Sam Goody’s shuttered there were new ways to get music.

It’s none of those things.

It’s the small touchstones of your life that shift before you were ready for them to, and make you feel a little older than you are and a little more lost in the New Jersey you grew up in.

Oh, and by the way, July 30 is 47 years and they still haven’t found Hoffa.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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