(Updated) Supermarket opens on New Castle Avenue as changes rock grocery industry

A supermarket  has opened at the former SuperFresh location  on New Castle Avenue under the Super G Market name.

The Super G, which is off Route 9  iwill be an  independently-owned  operation,   according to the manager.

The store, according to a sign on the structure will be affiliated with IGA, a grocery buying group that has not operated in northern Delaware for a number of years, although it has member stores in southern New Jersey.

Supermarket News (paywall) had earlier reported that the Thriftway Shop and Bag group of independently owned stores in the Philadelphia is affiliating with IGA.

The Super G  name was used in Delaware   for a number of years by  Giant (Landover, MD) when the company did not want to confuse its stores with those of Giant, Carlisle, PA.

The two  Giant  chains have since merged, with Delaware stores now operating under the Super  Giant name. However,  the Pennsylvania and Maryland/DC/Delaware  chains operate separately.

A spokesperson for Giant (Landover)  said last spring the New Castle  store is not part of the chain.

Last year, SuperFresh’s   parent company A&P  sold off  their holdings after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  A number of A&P’s   Pathmark and Superfresh stores were  acquired by  Acme Markets. Other stores were closed.

Acme has lost its once dominant market in the Delaware Valley to Shoprite, a cooperative that supplies  locally owned stores.

The Kenny Family Shoprites are believed to have gained   the slot in the northern Delaware market, prior to Acme acquiring the former A&P stores. Kenny Shoprite stores  already rack up  higher sales per store than Acme, which ,thanks to the A&P storeacquisition,  has  locations  a short distance from one another.

Acme is part of  Albertson’s, which also owns Safeway stores in the state. Acme customers  have begun to see the influence of the combined companies, with the addition of Safeway’s Lucerne brand  of dairy products.

The merger has left one case in north Wilmington where  Safeway  and Acme stores are across the street from one another.

The ownership picture is likely get more complicated  if the planned  merger of the European companies that own Food Lion and Giants goes through.

The  $29 billion stock merger of Ahold (Giant) and Delhaize (Food Lion) would  give the combined company more than 6,500 stores with 375,000 associates as well as 50 million customers.

The merger has  led to  rumors  that stores might close.

Food Lion spokesperson Christy Phillips-Brown stated  that the merger is undergoing review with government regulators and it is too early to speculate on the next steps.

 “The review process is still ongoing and it is too early to comment or speculate. We will provide an update once more information is available. As part of the Federal Trade Commission process, we will not close stores because any store that must be divested must be sold to another grocer and remain open,”  Phillips-Brown stated.

The Giant and Food Lion  chains operate under  different store formats in the U.S.  with Food Lion operating smaller stores that allow quick shopping trips and Giant running larger supermarkets.While Giant has not added stores in Delaware in recent years, Food Lion has moved more aggressively, opening several stores in low and moderate income areas of  northern Delaware.