Market 32
Opened: 2015
Previous Tenants:none
Location:21 Galaxy Pass, Sutton, MA
Photographed:September 4, 2021
I discussed the history of Price Chopper's experimentation with various different formats on the Webster post, and we're here to tour the Sutton Market 32 location -- a result of some of that experimentation! This was the first new-build Market 32, opening in 2015 (previous Market 32s were conversions from Price Chopper).
The 60,000 square foot store contains a liquor store and a Starbucks, both features Webster opened with two years prior.
But this is a truly spectacular supermarket! We'll see a few Market 32s and I must say I am consistently impressed with them. This one is extra-deluxe because it was designed as one and not as a Price Chopper. Cafe, Starbucks, and an entrance to the liquor store are in the front right corner, with prepared foods on the right side of the grand aisle. Deli and cheese are in an island right in the middle of the grand aisle, with produce, bakery and seafood at the back. Meat lines the rest of the back wall. On the far left side of the store, the layout gets a little wonky as the aisles change direction and run side to side, with (if I'm remembering correctly) dairy in the back and frozen in the front, then pharmacy/HABA to the left of that so it's at the far left side of the store.
Let's take a stop in the beautiful liquor store before we move into the supermarket...
CIP Retail was responsible for this store, and they also did the amazing Dave's Fresh Marketplace we saw in North Smithfield (which incidentally is about 23 miles south of here).
Back out to the grand aisle, you can see that the space is set up with multiple small islands or kind of sub-departments, instead of longer, straighter aisles.
A large prepared foods section lines the right side of the store.
And behind prepared foods, we move into the produce department in the back corner of the store.
And although bakery is in the back corner here, the bagels, donuts, muffins, and pastries are in the front of the store near the pastries.
Some of the merchandising is exceptional here, such as the pepper and mushroom island.
The gorgeous bread counter is at the back of the grand aisle. Market 32 has beautiful breads.
And a look across the back wall of the store, over towards the grocery aisles.
Here's the spectacular cheese department at the back of the deli island. The display is gorgeous, and the selection is quite good.
And looking back towards the prepared foods counters on the outside wall...
Back up at the front of the grand aisle is the floral department, between the entrance and the front-end.
Heading into the grocery aisles, we find that they're clean and pleasant. Some of the merchandising here, too, is great, but this aisle is pretty straightforward.
The seafood counter is at the back of the grand aisle to the left of bakery.
Here we can see an example of the merchandising within the grocery department, with these mini-departments. It's not unlike what A&P attempted to do in their prototype stores around 2007 (see here and here), but Market 32's execution is far better.
These category-specific displays are between the meat department on the back wall and the grocery aisles. This makes the grocery aisles a little shorter, but they're still plenty long.
Kitchenwares and butcher are up next on the back wall...
Looking back towards the grand aisle...
I love these aisle markers, too. The design of the whole store is really outstanding.
Even within the grocery aisles, there's a lot of good merchandising for specialty products.
At the end of the grocery aisles, we see here where the aisles change direction and the frozen and dairy aisles begin.
Packaged meats and dairy are at the back, with frozen foods in the front.
And one of my favorite things about this decor package is that it doesn't peter out after the grand aisle. Even the dairy signage is gorgeous.
HABA and other nonfoods, such as pet products, are beyond the frozen foods in the far left part of the store. The pharmacy is in the front of that section.
One thing I will say: Market 32 is expensive, significantly more so than its lower-end and middle-market counterparts. Still, the stores are exceptional, and you can see that this store feels so much larger and more impressive than a similar store of a similar size just a few towns over.
Here's where HABA transitions into frozen, which is set up with multiple short aisles running side to side instead of front to back.
The rest of HABA and the actual pharmacy department have their own entrance in the far front left corner of the store.
Looking out towards nonfoods and frozen/dairy...
And here's a look at the front-end! You can see the unusual setup with frozen foods running side to side here, and the grocery aisles are just beyond that. The grand aisle is straight ahead below.
This Market 32 is an exceptional store, and it's also the only one in town. Tomorrow we're headed one town over to check out a supermarket just east of here!
