A vacant South Philly Walgreens is set to become a supermarket
The New York-based chain is on track to open the Broad Street store by early 2026. Plans include a pharmacy, a deli counter, a fresh produce department, and free home delivery for local seniors.
South Philadelphia is set to get a new supermarket in early 2026.
New York-based Met Fresh is on track to open its first Philly location in January inside the former Walgreens at Broad and Snyder Streets, said owner Omar Hamdan.
The 13,000-square-foot supermarket will include a pharmacy, a fresh-cut produce department, and a deli counter, Hamdan said, and will offer free grocery and prescription delivery to area seniors. It is also applying for a license to sell beer and wine.
“We try to bring the human factor back into the market,” Hamdan said, adding that the company’s philosophy hearkens back to a simpler time: “That store owner who had the apron and was sweeping outside of his store, who said ‘good morning’ to everyone? That is what we do.”
Met Foods, a family-owned company, has been operating markets in New York City for 15 years, Hamdan said. It currently has locations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and northern New Jersey.
When the South Philly grocer opens, it will mark Met Fresh’s first location outside the New York City area, Hamdan said.
In 2019, Met Fresh had been in talks to move into a mixed-use development in Philadelphia’s Mantua section, but Hamdan said those plans fell through.
Since then, Hamdan said they continued to look for potential Philadelphia locations. The store at 2014 S. Broad Street seemed like “a perfect fit,” he said, due to the area’s walkability, dense population, and a demand for more grocery stores and pharmacies.
From the Broad Street store, the nearest supermarket is seven-tenths of a mile away. As for chain pharmacies, the Walgreens closed last year, and a Rite Aid across the street shuttered this summer as the Philly-based company went out of business. So the nearest large drugstore is a CVS off Passyunk Avenue, also seven-tenths of a mile away.
» READ MORE: What happens after a Philly neighborhood’s last chain pharmacy shuts its doors
The Met Fresh will soon start hiring in South Philly, with Hamdan noting that his stores typically need 30 to 40 part- and full-time employees from the surrounding communities. The new location will open after “extensive” renovations, Hamdan said, and once the team gets ahold of refrigeration equipment, which has been impacted by tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Hamdan said he’s excited for Philly consumers to be introduced to Met Fresh, calling the Broad Street spot “a test pilot to see how we do in the Philly market.”