At least it no longer looks like a nightmare. The bag search thing is enough to keep me out. Tell customers you don't trust them from the beginning, and they'll give you a reason not to trust them.

The distinctive shape of this store's roof and many other stores in the area like it is because it was built by Penn Fruit Company - once the 2nd largest chain of markets after Food Fair in the Delaware Valley. Penn Fruit died out by the end of the 1970s. They were known for distinctive store buildings. You can find that shape of building in numerous places - the Staples in Springfield, another in Rockledge is an office building. I guess they're pretty versatile buildings.

Caveat Emptor: Let The Buyer Beware...
Supremo May NOT Be That Supreme
logannews@yahoo.com

The Logan TIMES~Independent has written quite abit about Supremo. We were excited to see them come to our community--now, we're not so sure. Do yourself a favor. Check out Supremo's other locations. At first their like a community saviour--then they get 'comfortable', lax, lazy about cleanliness and sanitation.

Ask IBEW Local 98, [Johnnie doc's union boys]. They are outside the Supremo in our neighborhood frequently pointing out the mouse and vermin problems. Although their real 'beef' is with the store using non-union contractors, the rat and mouse droppings stuff is good to warn buyers about.

When the Broad and Wingohocking store first opened, it was touted by the Philadelphia daily News as "Black owned and operated" because the shopping center is owned by Triumph Baptist Church. Supremo is Cuban owned and operated, based in North Jersey (Trenton) and 'low-income' areas of New York that can't attract a "Fresh-grocer" or other brand name retailers. So, in that sense they're a niche marketer. Sad, their niche is ghettto policies like having to pay for deli seperately at the deli counter, security bag checks and 'racial profiling' by following certain shoppers around the store.

If you're curious to read more: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/logannews and SEARCH messages on the tool bar for "Supremo" for articles related to this topic.

Logan News Group
DMB COMMUNICATIONS~Philadelphia
A Liberty Communications Group, LLC partner
Phila., PA 19140-1207

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The Logan TIMES~Independent
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A grocery store that has issues with vermin - I am shocked, shocked i tell you. Who has ever heard of such a thing? Next you are going to tell me that there are roach problems near take-out food joints. Simply unbelievable.

Thanks for the report. It seems like the IBEW's beef with Supremo predates this store - which is interesting. I think folks are more intersted in terms of how this store holds up over the long haul and your input is very interesting in this regard. In terms of some of the things you are talking about it still sounds like even worse case scenario Supreme is going to be a step above the old Thriftway it replaced - which isn't necessarily saying all that much.

My response to Supremo was "meh." I've been there twice, and found that the prices were more or less comparable to Fresh Grocer - some items are slightly cheaper, some are slightly more expensive. It is larger, which is nice, and seems to have a wider selection of store brand items (There's no Richfood version of Elios pizza at FG!), but it closes early and does have that tinge of "ghetto" about it. That said, it is two blocks closer to my house, so I'll probably end up doing a fair amount of shopping there.

Has anyone else noticed the horiffic stench emanating from the Supremo parking lot? I was planning to go there the other week to pick up a few things, but the smell was so strong that I turned around. There was a pool of stankin' water on the side of the building by the parking lot that seemed to be the source. Biking nearby on hot days, I've been able to smell it from as much as a block away. It smells like rotting meat and bleach--like maybe they scrubbed out theirmeat/fish area and it's draining into the parking lot.

In any case, they've lost my (infrequent anyway) business. Gross!

The rotting flesh/bleach smell can be enjoyed inside the store too on not too rare occasions. My wife won't go toward the back of the store for that reason. I occasionally buy things there, but only things that are well sealed like canned goods. There is another smell too, a unique Supremo smell, that infects a lot of their food. The first (and last) time I bought tortillas there they tasted like the unique Supremo smell. Maybe I should add that this unique taste/smell is not a good taste/smell.

There is definitely a "ghetto" atmosphere with the cart cage (which I doubt could possibly allow the store to be handicap accessable) and the bag check. There is also a definite double standard, being that they rarely ask me (a 30 year old white guy) to check my bag while I always see young and/or non-white people being asked for their bags. It is really close to my house though.

I know the unique Supremo smell of which you speak--kind of like cleaning products or cheap air freshener or something. Whatever it is, food should not taste that way. The sad thing is that I had high hopes for the store, but it has turned out to be a small step above the old Foodrite on 48th. It's bigger and has a better selection, but it's still disgusting and stinky. And for all their talk about a varied selection of vegetarian and ethnic foods, last time I was there I asked a store employee where the hummus was, and he responded with, "Hum...what? Never heard of it."

I can imagine some third-world country smelling like Supremo.