Phillipsburg's only full-size supermarket is closing

Ahart's Market will shut its doors after 15 years.

After 15 years, Ahart's Market is closing up shop in Phillipsburg.

The town's only full-size grocery store will shut for good at the end of July, leaving residents used to walking to the store on Route 22 with a nearly four-mile schlep to the next-closest grocer.

"It's a sad situation, but financially it doesn't make sense," said George Ahart, owner of the five-store chain, part of the Great Valu Food Markets group. The Phillipsburg location is the only one in New Jersey; the other four in Pennsylvania and not affected by the closure, he said.

Ahart declined to go into specifics about the decision to close, but said it had to do with a long, ongoing dispute with the landlord. Town officials have previously said property upkeep was an issue, and Ahart credited current and former mayors Stephen Ellis and Harry Wyant with attempting to mediate.

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The store's 33 full- and part-time employees were informed of the closure this week, Ahart said. He said the markets will look for opportunities to relocate the workers to the Pennsylvania locations in Allentown, Bethlehem, Bath and Blakeslee.

The Phillipsburg location, at 680 Memorial Parkway, has been on the market since at least late 2015.

"Nobody's stepping up to the plate just yet," said Bob Bartnett, the vice president of marketing with Morristown-based property owner United States Land Resources. He added that he's confident the well-trafficked location will draw interest, though it may not necessarily be from a grocer.

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In the meantime, residents will have to make longer trips to get groceries come August.

Small grocers dot the town, but the closest major supermarkets to the Phillipsburg Ahart's are more than 3.5 miles east on Route 22. Looking west, it is a four- to seven-mile drive to reach the four closest major supermarkets in the Easton area. 

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.